Performance Problems
by Superbeans
Summary: After some new mysterious software sends Hollow Bastion's computer haywire, Sora is sent in there to check things out.
1. Chapter 1

The metallic ringing clattered and crashed, resulting in a soft crescendo, 'vwoop, vwoop, VWOOP!'

And two yellow eyes fluttered open. Seemingly confused, these two eyes glanced at the emptiness surrounding it. Nothing in every direction. Just pure darkness...

Perplexed, the little yellow eyes wrenched forwards a body, consisting simply of an expressionless face, an abdomen, and four jittery limbs, all completely black.

And as it waddled forwards on its clumsy limbs, the little creature couldn't help but wonder what it had done, to be in control of such a bleak existence.

Did it have friends here?

Family?

A home?

A purpose?

Anything that wasn't just... blackness?

The creature blinked.

After all, this was a rather depressing situation it had inadvertently stumbled into. Did it even exist?

That was a difficult question for it to answer. After all, there didn't seem to be anything else here to-

Oh wait, that looked like light. Light meant something else.

Could it be a friend?

With some actual vigour in its movement, the little creature staggered towards the lights. At the very least, they provided answers. The lights were many, and that meant many friends, it surmised.

The lights were approaching at a much faster pace than the creature had anticipated. Was this buzzing feeling excitement? Exhilaration at the thought of making a friend? Hadthese new friends noticed it? The creature simply didn't know.

The lights swooped overhead, confusing the creature once again. Could the friends fly?

Could it fly? It wasn't so sure.

Were these a different type of friend? Perhaps.

But the creature's thoughts were shattered when its new friends roared.

The creature whimpered.

* * *

"Nngh..." Sora grunted, rubbing his bleary eyes and not expecting the bright lights to come flooding into them.

"About time you woke up." Came a voice. Sora forced his eyes to focus on the direction of the voice, and spied an amused looking Leon, glancing back at him from his computer chair.

"Leon...?" Sora yawned, his head full of clouds it seemed. "Where're... Donald and Goofy?"

"This might surprise you Sora, but they have other things in their lives," Leon smirked. "What, did you expect them to just be standing-"

"Sora!" A voice hollered from the doorway. "You're awake?!"

Goofy leant outside of the doorway, and yelled. "Donald! He's awake!"

"He's awake?!" Donald's trademark quack hissed back, and next thing Sora knew, he was surrounded by his two best friends once again.

"That was some nap ya took there, Sora!" Goofy looked both overjoyed and concerned at the same time. "We were bored stiff!"

"I stand corrected..." Leon buried his face into one palm. "Anyway. Sora, get over here. There's something I want you to see."

"Huh...?" A confused Sora muttered, stumbling from amidst the confines of the bed and over towards Leon, Donald and Goofy in tow. "What's the problem?" He yawned again, as he stretched his limbs out.

"Well, it's kinda weird," Leon began explaining. "You see, Yuffie found this 'software' that was apparently able to speed up the computer," he pointed to a program on the desktop, named ' '. "But I'm not so sure it's legit. I mean, for one, Yuffie 'found' it, and secondly, the computer hasn't been acting right since I installed it. Been acting really screwy, y'know?"

"Okay...?" Sora nodded, under the pretence that he understood, in spite of being lost past 'software'."

"And yeah, I can't do anything externally, so I was wonderin' if you could take a look at it?"

"Umm... I don't know much about computers..." Sora was hesitant to admit. "I dunno if I can help you there, Le-"

"He means get in the computer, ya big Palookah!" Donald began shoving him towards the transporter. "Like, we, did, with, Tron!"

"Hunh? Would that even work?" Sora raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"In theory, yes," Leon answered simply. "But I'd act fast, in any case. This computer's getting harder and harder to control, and it's only so long before it'll start eating our important files and corrupting stuff."

"We won' letcha down, Leon!" Goofy announced despite himself, and Sora rolled his eyes, having had his mind made up for him.


	2. Chapter 2

The computer began whirring overtime as Sora's body was integrated into the machine, Donald and Goofy to follow. What began as reality, and a bright flash of light, led to an entirely new world...

"Hunh?" The young man grunted. "Why am I so... blocky?"

Sora studied himself. Smaller details, like the gaps between his fingers, had been more or less left out, while in general he had a much more square appearance.

"It looks like we're in some kinda game, eh Sora?" Goofy's hand ghosted through his chin. "But maybe an old game, from looooong ago."

"Hmm, maybe," Sora noticed just how tinny his voice had become. "But what's a game doing inside the computer?"

"Musta been that thing Yuffie found!" Donald stated the obvious. His original feathery textures had also been replaced with just rhomboid shapes, and he was little more than a mass of blue and white now.

"W-well, either way, let's see if we can get to the bottom of this so we can get o-o-o-o-o-o-oooout."

Sora froze mid-sentence. In an act that terrified both of his companions, his features were taken over by mottled green blobs, and his voice was hijacked by something more recognisable as engine noise than human speech.

"...What was that?!" Donald squawked, stuttering around in circles as his body seemed unable to keep up with his intended movements.

"I... I don't kn-know," Sora flinched, a nauseating lurch melting through him. "Hey, there's a building over there. Let's go see if we can get some hel-help."

And with slow, jerky movements, the trio made their way across piles of what looked like bricks, towards the building in the distance.

"Hey, there's a guy!" Goofy announced, pointing to a small figure in blue at the bottom of the building. He turned to Sora on his left, "reckon we should go talk Te him, Sor-"

"huh?"

"M-maybe he can hELP us." Sora spoke from Goofy's right, feeling incredibly out of control of his own body, as his legs simply jutted out in front of him with no discernible timing or direction.

"Hellooooo?!" Donald cut to the chase, signalling at the character in blue.

"Huh?!" The blue-clad man seemed just as surprised as any of them. "Well, howdy strangers! Name's Fix-it Felix Jr.! What can I do ya for?"

"Well err, Mr Fix-it," Sora extended a jerky hand towards the man in blue. "We were wondering if you could-"

"Please, call me Felix." He didn't take the hand, instead removing his cap and bowing. "Say, you're plenty tall for a plant, aren'cha?"

"Pl-plant?!" Sora gasped, somehow bursting two feet backwards and bumping into Donald. The duck flailed at him, but received no attention.

"Oop! Hold that thought, houseplant! We got a quarter!" Fix-it Felix announced, now wielding a golden hammer. "Might wanna step back a bit, friends. This could get messy."

"Messy?" Sora blanked him. "What could get-"

However, a glance skywards answered his question.

"I'M GONNA WRECK IT!"

Sora's eye twitched. For a beast of a man, at least nine feet tall, was climbing the building in front of them, and smashing chunks out of it!

"WHOA!" Sora gasped, and rolled out of the way of a falling slab of brick. He sprung back into a fighting stance, keyblade at the ready.

"Y'see? Be careful now, alright friends?" Felix advised. "You stay safe, and I'm gonna go to work n-"

It all fell on deaf ears. Deftly evading and repelling the falling debris despite his laggy stature, Sora was too busy to listen.

"Errm, Sora...?" Goofy made an attempt to get through.

"Not now, Goof." Sora huffed, slashing away with his keyblade. "Busy!"

Sora whacked at a lump of chimney with his keyblade as if it were a baseball, and sent it careering through the air.

"Alright, that should about do it!" Felix wiped his brow, up on the third floor. He tapped the remains of the wall with his golden hammer, and watched as it all sprang magically back into place. "Okay, level complete. Great work, gaa-aaaagh!"

Just as he'd turned around to survey the rest of the building, the ball of debris Sora whacked hit him square in the face!

Felix fell limp, and crashed three floors to the floor with a heavy thud. Ominous music rattled across the vicinity, and Felix remained unmoving across the ground.

Sora gasped. "...oh no..."

"Is he...?" Donald whispered to Goofy, who only gave a solemn nod in return.

"Felix!"

The nine foot tall giant leapt from the roof of the building, creating a small trench in the ground with his impact.

"Felix!" The giant gasped, scooping up Felix's lifeless body with a single enormous hand. "You okay buddy?!"

Felix said nothing. But luckily for all concerned parties, a resounding 'voop, voo-voo-voop!' bounced through the area, and Felix suddenly sprang awake again!

"Whah?!" Felix gasped, shaking his head. "Ralph?! What's wrong, why'd you-"

"Those little space invaders attacked you!" The giant - known as Ralph, apparently - pointed an accusing finger at Sora.

"Ohh no, Ralph, it was an accident, I'm sure..." Felix muttered, still groggy. "Ya see what I meant about keepin' a safe distance, little houseplant?"

"O-okay!" Sora grinned awkwardly, backing away slowly.

"Sorraaa... I think we should run." Goofy gulped.

"Yeah, it's about time you kept a LOTTA distance!" Ralph the giant hollered. He ever-so-gently placed Felix back down on the ground, and roared. "STAY OUTTA MY GAME!"

And next thing Sora knew, the nine foot tall monolith was charging at them!

"RUN!" Donald cried, knocking into Sora and Goofy as he made his escape. The three tumbled off of the platform, and onto a little monorail-like contraption, which began to move at a desperately slow pace upon their falling into it.

"RAGH!" Ralph roared, crashing into the monorail behind them. "You're NOT getting away that easy!"

"Raaalph!" Felix cried in the background as the monorail picked up speed, taking Sora, Donald and Goofy away from the platform. And isolating them with a murderous giant.

"Eheh..." Sora gulped, he and Donald gathering behind Goofy. ""L-look, let's just cool down, and-"

"No!" Ralph bellowed, wielding his humongous fists. Goofy raised his shield slowly, as their only form of defence against the monster. However, that defence didn't last long, with Ralph's fist smashing into it and turning it cleanly inside out.

"Ahaw..." Goofy chuckled nervously, and span the shield around.

"Look, please! Just let us expl-"

"I ain't lettin' you nothin'!" Ralph raged, pummelling Goofy's shield once again. "You stay away from Felix, an' away from my g-whoooaaa!"

The monorail stopped suddenly, tipping all four characters off of it and into an enormous white room. Sora was first to his feet, and had no time to acknowledge the cornucopia of colourful characters inhabiting the giant, train station-esque room.

"Whah?!" Sora gasped, swerving to avoid an enormous fist. "C-c'mon, give us a chance!"

"Bad guys like you don't get chances!" Ralph growled, tearing what looked like a bench from its hinges and bodily throwing it at the trio. It misses horribly, and clattered across the floor, narrowly missing other characters as well with accompanying screams.

"People could get hurt!" Sora huffed back, his aching legs screaming for a rest. But another thrown object - this one could've been a mailbox? - told him that Ralph was not about to listen.

A pair of curt nods had him set up.

"Donald!" He cried, and the duck launched a Fira spell at Ralph, hitting him in the face. The giant roared with pain, but pain wasn't the intent.

"Goofy!" Sora yelled, and Goofy slowed for just long enough. Sora's foot connected with his shield, and the young man kicked off of it into the air. Keyblade in hands, he locked himself around the giant's shoulders.

"GRAH!" Ralph roared, flailing to detatch the teenager. "Get off me, ya little Goomba!"

"Not until you calm, down!" Sora grunted, tightening his grip on the keyblade.

"Urgh...!" Ralph grunted, stumbling all over the place as he attempted to dislodge Sora from around his neck. Things were getting knocked over. Cats were shrieking. Other characters were going haywire. And neither of them were giving up.

The pair staggered right past an electric blue man who had shocked in front of them both, and ambled through another dark tunnel.

Sora continued tightening his keyblade, cutting Ralph's air supply and finally bringing the giant to his knees. Once he was sure Ralph had 'calmed down', he he stumbled back in front of the giant, and knelt down.

"I just wanna talk. Alright?"

Slowly, a heaving Ralph wrenched himself onto his back, and gulped down several litres of fresh air.

But another surprise was in for the pair tonight, as a cacophony of metallic clicking sounded from behind Sora:

"Start talkin'!"


	3. Chapter 3

Two characters gulped simultaneously, and slowly turned to face their new 'acquaintance'.

And her blaster.

"Quite a show you four put on," the obvious leader of the group smirked. Shifting blonde hair from her sharp gaze, she relaxed her rifle and said, "what is this, a travelling flea circus?"

"I, um..." Sora stammered. "We-we're sorry, okay? This is all just a big misun-"

"We're sorry?" Ralph's bellow drowned Sora's instantly. "I'd like to know what I've done wrong, ya little-"

"Can it, giant," the blonde woman threatened. "Porcupine over there was at least tryin' to save your hiney. If you know what's good for you you'll let him squeak."

Her rifle wasn't even pointing at them any more. She was this intimidating by just herself?

"Porcu...pine?" Sora muttered to himself. "a-anyway! We've all come here from fa-a-a-a-ar aw-w-way!"

His voice did that thing again.

"I'll say," the woman tightened her grip on her rifle. "And then what, you just fell into my game?"

"Pretty much?" Sora glitched out a shrug. "Y-y'see, we started off in a dif-f-ferent game, and there was this little blue guy called Fix-it Felix."

"I've heard the name," the woman pursed her lips.

"A-and we accidentally ended up hurting him..." Sora's hand ghosted through his neck area.

"You damn near killed him," Ralph growled, only to get struck in the face with what looked like a shoe?

"I said CAN IT, Bigfoot!" The blonde growled right back at him. "Okay, porcupine. Go."

"Uh-uhmm... Sora please, if you would?" He winced.

"Sergeant Calhoun." The blonde lady's face didn't even mar.

"...r-right. Thanks," Sora gulped again. "Anyway, we're on the lookout for some creatures. They're like little black shadowy dark things with bright yellow eyes."

Calhoun's eyes widened. Just a little.

"Do they... sound familiar?"

"Matter of fact, yes," Calhoun offered a strict deadpan. "But you see kid, now we got a problem."

Barely even aware, Sora took a tiny step backwards.

"That creature you described," Calhoun began pacing. "Sounds an awful lot like what I know as a Cy-bug. Now, far as I know, Cy-bugs exist only in this game."

Calhoun was inching closer, yet Sora did not dare retreat.

"I, don't, like Cy-Bugs." Calhoun' voice was dropping with every step she took. "Don't like them, don't like anything to do with 'em. And now you're tellin' me you've been in contact with them? Outside of this game?!"

"Umm..." Sora grimaced, his forehead dripping with fear. "Y-yes?"

Calhoun huffed. "Well that just ain't a smart answer."

"W-would it be a smarter answer if I said I knew how to get rid of them?!" Sora flinched, and withdrew into himself.

"That ain't news to me, kid. I know how to deal with them too," Calhoun cocked her rifle. "Now, unless you can offer me some real information, I'm just gonna have to-"

"Duck!"

Goofy charged out of nowhere, and threw his shield skywards as something dark crashed into it. Calhoun recoiled instinctively, and aimed skywards. "What the hell?!"

"Th-there was a flyin' thing headin' for ya!" Goofy retrieved his already battered shield. "M-maybe one-a them Cy-B-"

"Nope." Calhoun shot him down. "Don't even try and tell me a Cy-Bug got that close to me without me knowin'. I've been trackin' them for years!"

"Th-then what's that?!" Donald squawked, and pointed behind her.

"Pff. Nice try, duck." Calhoun snorted derisively. "But I ain't gonna fall for that-"

"No, really!" Sora interrupted, and even Ralph was pointing in the same direction. Calhoun narrowed her eyes. Could all of these game invading scum sacks be lying? All of them?

She sighed, and groaned, then sighed again, and turned to see what they were all pointing at.

Only to meet face-to-face with it.

"...well they have been getting harder to track lately." She didn't even flinch. "Alright civilians, get behind me! We'll finish this little conversation later!"

Calhoun emptied a spray of bullets from her blaster, and downed three of the 'Cy-Bugs' in quick succession. With roars of pain, the giant, beetle-like creatures would collapse to the ground one by one, and then explode into puddles of foul smelling goop.

"D'you... think we should help?" Sora whispered to his two companions, as Calhoun continued to single-handedly fight off the wave after wave of Cy-Bugs.

"That'd be a negative, civilian." Calhoun answered for them, literally punching one of the Cy-Bugs in an attempt to keep it away.

"But it's my job, m-ma'am!" Sora's arm flailed into a saluting position. "A-as a keyblade wielder, I'm sup-supposed to-"

"Keyblade?" Calhoun frowned. "What kinda dumb name is that for a weapon?"

"I-I dunno, I didn't name it!" Sora stammered. "But anyway, can you at least let us help you?!"

"Nuh-uh!" Calhoun froze him with a glare. "Far as I'm concerned kid, you'll only be a distraction. And there's somethin' up with the bugs today, to bring them here in these numbers. Why, they're almost a challenge. So you just stay, the fu-huh?"

Calhoun narrowed her eyes. What was with these things today? Normally they would just charge relentlessly, but today they weren't even meeting her gaze. It's almost like they didn't-

"Come here, kid." Calhoun literally grabbed Sora by the head and dragged him in front of her. Wherever the kid was, it seemed, the Cy-Bugs followed. And Calhoun could feel her veins percolating now.

"You wanna explain this?" Calhoun threw Sora to the floor. "You're drawing in these Cy-Bugs like you're a freakin' magnet! Something I don't understand?!"

"Did I mention that I'm... technically one of them?" Sora withdrew into himself, and grimaced.

"Technically..." Sora could see the steam rising. "Oh, this just gets better and better."

A palm thrust to the face of one Cy-Bug had it and its buddies halted for a moment, and Sora was once again in the firing line. "Alright, you've got one chance here. You were already suspicious enough to start with, and now you're saying you're 'technically' one of these freaks? Gimme an excuse."

"H-hey now, easy..." Sora threw his hands up in submission. "That's all a really long story, and I can't-"

Calhoun cleared her throat.

"I promise I'll explain later, okay?!" Sora gulped. "Til then, just let us help you get rid of these things!"

"There's a never ending supply," Calhoun huffed.

"Alright, well this... thing of them then?" There was a dim hope in the boy's eyes.

"Hey! Stop arguin' with the scary lady, kid!" Ralph shouted, only to be silenced by an accusing finger from Calhoun.

"Look, I'm like a magnet for these things, as you've noticed," Sora gestured to the endless horde on his left. "Trust me, you want my help!"

"Or I just kill you, and they stop following?" Calhoun was unimpressed.

"Or, you could use me as bait?!" Sora squeaked, unable to hide the panic in his voice. But before the gravity of what he'd just said could sink in...

"Bait, huh? This just got interesting."

* * *

"So, what is all of this again?"

"What part don't you understand?"

"...all of it?"

"Ungh..." Calhoun groaned. "He usually this brain dead?"

"Urmm..." Goofy was hesitant.

"Yup!" Donald wasn't.

"I thought so," Calhoun said. "Alright, one more time. You can draw in Cy-Bugs, right?"

"Yeah...?"

"And I still can't trust you, so you gotta prove that you're useful to me, okay?"

"I... guess so?"

"Good so far? Good. Like I said before, I've set up this mini game so we can test what you've said. If all goes well, you show that I can rely on you, and we kill a buttload of Cy-Bugs. If it goes bad, well..."

"I like the sound of it all going well!" Sora called back obliviously.

"In theory, so do I!" Calhoun cocked her blaster. "Now, let's do this. Any intelligent questions before we start?"

"Umm..." Sora was immediately thrown. "So this mini-game is like a game inside of a game?"

Calhoun nodded sternly.

"Does it feel weird, to know you're being controlled by someone else?"

The walls of the game blooped around him. Maybe self awareness wasn't a good idea in this world.

"You get used to it," Calhoun deadpanned. "Now are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be!" Sora's arms fell to his sides in defeat.

"Good! Cause you don't have a choice!" Calhoun actually grinned. "Okay, start her up!"

Floodlights splashed into life around Sora, followed by a really dated 'wuwuwoop!' and what looked like a scoreboard;

'PLAYER 1

CALHOUN

00000'

'PLAYER 2

PORCPIN

00000'

"Porcpin?" Sora frowned at the screen.

"Porcupine wouldn't fit," Calhoun's gaze was static.

"Why didn't you just use my actually name?"

The request was fair enough, wasn't it?

"Didn't remember it," Calhoun shrugged, "what am I, Rain Man?"

"What I wanna know is, why's HE get to be player two?!" Ralph stamped out his disapproval.

"How long have you got?" Calhoun gave him a dark look.

Ralph simply returned a sullen one, "I wanted a go..."

"Well maybe you'll get your chance once I cream Porcu...Sora," Calhoun remained unmoving.

And with little warning, the cliched 'ding ding!' of a bell echoed through the area, followed by the cheesiest 8-bit jingle Sora had ever suffered through. Entirely too sunny and jovial, it did absolutely nothing for the situation, especially when the cy-bugs swarmed his hill. Charging only as fast as their tiny legs would carry them, it wasn't long before they were climbing to his position.

Sora gulped, and swung his keyblade. A moment's thought had him launch himself into the air, readying a quick aerial attack on the first cy-bug that had approached. However, before his blade could batter the beastie, a barrage of bullets cracked the creature's carapace instead, and Sora's day was instantly soured as Cy-Bug exploded in his face, covering him in a viscous green something or other.

"Nice try, kid!" Calhoun smirked.

"Heyy, no fair! You get long range!" Sora complained.

"Life ain't fair!" Calhoun lined up her next shot. "I mean, I knew you were green, but come on..."

Sora wiped green from his eyes. "Dammit..."

Three more bullets punctured another Cy-Bug, which lurched to the ground and exploded. All over Sora again.

He could hear Calhoun laughing to herself in the background as the Cy-Bugs gained in numbers around him. At least with this many, he'd be able to hit a few.

A quick strike knocked one Cy-Bug onto its back, where it could only flail around for a moment. Sora's Keyblade was quickly impaled into the creature's vulnerable underbelly, and it exploded into yet more goop as Sora finally got his first point.

But Calhoun already had five...

"Gotta do better, kid!" She cackled, and a bullet seethed past Sora's head and into a Cy-Bug, causing it to roar in pain.

Sora slopped more goo from his face, and launched his keyblade into another Cy-Bug, which also exploded on him.

There had to be a better way, right? To kill these things without getting covered in goo, and to at least keep up with Calhoun?

Sora mindlessly stabbed his Keyblade at a Cy-Bug, only to find razor sharp teeth threatening at his hand.

"Gah?!" He panicked, and suddenly his Keyblade was lost inside of the Cy-Bug...

Uh oh.

"Careful, Sora!" Calhoun warned. "These scum suckers become what they eat!"

Even as she spoke, the Cy-Bug began to morph, and take on a much more metallic hue. Longer and skinnier, but still with its giant teeth and billion legs, the Cy-Bug swung its increased length at Sora, who barely managed to swerve out of the way.

"Yaaaaaaghh!" The boy cried, his legs carrying him as quickly as he could manage, all while the Cy-Bug swung indiscriminately in his general direction, scything through other Cy-Bugs on its way past.

But there was an upside; Sora was still scoring points.

"Oh, ya slimy, cheatin'," Calhoun's eyes flared. "Hey, wise guy!"

Two bullets penetrated the Keyblade Cy-Bug, forcing it to an unconscious halt. "Do your dirty work yourself!"

"...thanks," Sora muttered. Reaching his hand out, he re-summoned the Keyblade, which burst from its host and spurted more green stuff everywhere. "Ugh..."

The Cy-Bug eating his Keyblade had helped his score, but Calhoun was still comfortably ahead but fourteen points to eight. And the bugs were starting to thin out.

"How am I gonna catch up?!" His brains were in overdrive, desperate for a solution. He couldn't play dirty, that was for sure, while Calhoun had both a speed and range advantage over him. That, and his body wasn't exactly behaving ever since entering the compu-

"Wha-what?! WHOA!" Sora disappeared in a blur of green and purple blocks, only to reappear a few feet away on top of a Cy-Bug.

"What the...?" He shook his head, thoroughly confused.

"Quit clownin' around, kid!" Calhoun hollered at him. "You tryna get killed?!"

"N-no?!" Sora stammered out, still green and blocky. He Cy-Bug beneath him clicked in bemusement at the sudden weight on its back, when the green blocks overtook its body too. Both disappeared in a flash of blobs, and then once again reappeared atop a huge group of Cy-Bugs. The green blobs were transferred from the first to the rest, and then they all just exploded randomly.

And of course, Sora got covered in it.

"Bl-ugh..." he retched, his stomach adamant to eject itself from his body. He shook his head like a dog, and saw for just long enough through the dripping green goop;

He was ahead!

Sure, it was only two points, nineteen to Calhoun's seventeen, but it was a lead! He wasn't in danger!

And then that lead evaporated instantly, as Calhoun took out two at once with a spray of bullets. "Cheap move, kid! Whatever you just did, I don't like it!"

"Why, 'cause it worked?" Sora actually found himself taunting.

"No, dammit! It's suspicious as all heck!" Calhoun didn't relent. "And I'd cut out the lip, if I were you! You're an easy target right now!"

"Fine, fine..." Sora groaned, shaking more goop from his everything. Whatever that teleporting thing was, he didn't even know if he could do it again anyway. Even if he wanted to.

But all this goop everywhere was making it so difficult to move, and the entire floor was covered in it...

Wait.

Sora cleaned off his Keyblade the best he could. He launched himself into the air...

"Fire!"

Sora's Keyblade ignited, and he shot a fireball at the floor. Soon the goo on the floor was a vibrant blaze as well, and the dozens of Cy-Bugs inside of it were only fuelling it. Screeches of pain were escaping the flames, followed by timely bursts, spilling more green goo everywhere which quickly ignited, spreading the fire farther.

Calhoun relaxed her blaster, and couldn't help but chuckle with mirth as a slime-covered Sora slipped down the hill, away from the now towering inferno. He scoreboard continued to tick over, complete with an entirely satisfying 'ding!' for each and every kill Sora claimed.

"...not bad, green." Calhoun's arms were folded. "Looks like you could be useful after all. Hear that boys?!"

Another cacophony of clicks echoed from behind their little group, and Sora only just noticed,

"h-how long have they been there?!"

"Since the start."

"...oh."

The blaze atop the hill finally started to die down, and the final scores were available for all to see;

'PLAYER 1

CALHOUN

00047'

'PLAYER 2

PORCPIN

00063'

'PORCPIN WINNER!'

"Alrighty, no time for gloating," Calhoun holstered her blaster. "Time to start making use of you, kid."

"Y-yes ma'am!" Sora found himself saluting it of sheer reflex, and four of the five characters followed Calhoun's lead.

"Alright, yeah!" Ralph cheered, "who wants to take on Ralph?!"

"...anyone?"

"aw, c'monnnn...!"


	4. Chapter 4

"Right!"

There was a loud crack as a foot crashed into the door, all but knocking it from its hinges. Calhoun stomped through, with Sora, Donald, Goofy and Ralph following cautiously behind her.

"Why… din'cha just open the door?" Goofy frowned.

"No time for that," Calhoun shouldered her rifle. "Right pansies, siddown, we've got important things to discuss."

Without a word, the four companions sat around a large central table. Ralph made the wise decision and chose the floor. It was a... depressing room, to say the least. Walls, ceiling, floors... all black. Black and papers, lots of papers, stuck to surfaces like a giant 3D notice board.

But before Sora could connect the dots, Calhoun had begun explaining,

"In the past few days, these scum suckers have broken past the boundaries of our game, and invaded at least four others, including Street Fighter and Duck Shoot. And this is information that does not leave this room, ladies. Am I clear?"

"...y-yeah," Sora gulped up at her, while everyone else just nodded.

"Now I've got the boys doing sweeps of the games in question," Calhoun continued with her brief, "in their spare time, I might add. Because on top of keeping this place secure, we have to report for Coin Duty all the damn time! So understandably we're all very tired!"

"What's Coin Duty?" Sora hissed to Ralph on his left. The giant simply gave him a sour look.

"You don't even know that?" His face fell. "...coin duty is where-"

"Am I missin' something, Wreck-it?"

Ralph snapped to attention, only to find an irate looking Calhoun staring him 'down', with folded arms and thin lips.

"Wanna continue the brief for me?" She asked, her voice dangerously silky. "C'mon c'mon, take my spot here, you can tell us all about your plan."

"I uh, I don't... don't have a plan, ma'am." Ralph resisted her attempts to drag him across the ground.

"Oh, you don't?" Calhoun looked horrified. "Well that's a damn crying shame. Now maybe you should all listen to the one person here, who DOES have a plan! Means you too, duck!"

Donald stopped sniggering instantly.

"Right! Now if we're listening...?" Calhoun challenged.

"Sorry...!" Sora mouthed back at Ralph, who simply blanked the boy.

"Okay, so if you'd waited another thirty seconds, Sora," Calhoun barked at him. "You woulda learned what Coin Duty was. Y'see, us video game characters have to report to our games every so often, like a roll call if you will. If we're not there, our game could get shut down and removed entirely, and this would be considered a bad result. So my men and I make sure that the games are still standing when Coin Duty rolls around."

"Uh huh...?" Sora nodded. "That... kinda makes sense I guess?"

"So here's where you come in," Calhoun waved her hand towards him. "Seeing as you don't seem to be from around here, and DON'T think I've forgotten about that," she pressed, "that means you and your uh, friends here can help with our sweeps while we've got Coin Duty. It means we can also take a damn nap every now and again. Capiche?"

"Err..." Sora was hesitant. "W-what's Capi-"

"-do you understand?" Simpler English made Calhoun roll her eyes.

"...yes?" Sora winced.

"Good enough," Calhoun almost smiled. "Right, come this way, let's get you three geared up."

"Three?" Ralph spluttered. "H-hey! What about me?!"

"Coin Duty, Wreck-It!" Calhoun yelled from across the room. "You were listening, right?"

"Y-yes ma'am!" Ralph threw a hand in front of his face in emergency salute, though it quickly turned into a shield for his grumbling.

"Heard that," calm as day, she rebuked. "Now, you get your ass back to your game. If we need ya, we'll give you a call!"

"A... call?" Sora stared in confusion at all the weird tech that was being forced on him. Armour plating? Energy sensors? Energy bars...?

"Yeah. A call." Calhoun deadpanned. "Don't tell me you've never used one of these before?"

Pushed into Sora's hands was an old fashioned walkie talkie, like he and Riku used to play cops with.

"Cy-Bugs have learned to scramble our communications, so we've gotta go a bit more... old school," she explained. "And also, I hate to admit it, but all this gear actually suits you, kid. You look... you look good in it."

Sora frowned at Calhoun's reproach, and span around to face a mirror. And instantly he could see what she meant. With a full black armoured military-style armour, complete with all sorts of gadgets and doodads, he'd evolved from an awkward spiky haired teenager and become a man.

The shoulder pads and armoured sections really bulked him out where he needed it, and he even felt stronger by simply wearing it. Even better, his keyblade slotted perfectly into the holster on his back, though that was probably meant for a blaster or something. Donald and Goofy both looked a lot more impressive too, with Goofy's shield sporting a much thicker black design - though he looked like he was struggling with the weight of it - and Donald was wearing a weird scope thing with a bunch of lights on it.

"Oh yeah, one last thing," Calhoun grabbed his attention again. This time she passed the young man what looked like an ID card.

"That'll get you past security, cause there's no doubt you look a bit suspicious." She actually smiled. "So yeah, don't you let me down, got it punk?"

Sora flailed a hand to his head in a rushed salute, "...got it!"

"You better." Calhoun gave him another death stare. "Anyway, the boys and I have gotta report to Coin Duty in ten minutes. You've got until then to get your ass back to Game Central Station. Remember where that is?"

Sora waved a shaky hand in the air, "uhh... sorta?"

"Good enough..." Calhoun groaned. "Right, just remember not to let the bright light see you. If it does, you'll be seen as a threat, and the game will spawn defences. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good," Calhoun clapped a hand on his shoulder, which hurt through the shoulder pad. With a smile, she said, "now get outta my sight."


	5. Chapter 5

A short trip back to Game Central Station had Sora and the guys instantly confused. Because aside from Ralph, who was grumpily stomping off towards his game, the station was practically empty. Just a few stragglers here and there, with even the cliched tumbleweed blowing past in a mesh of pixels.

"S-so this Coin Duty thing must be happening right now?" He supposed.

"Looks like?" Goofy shrugged. "So we're s'posed ta check these here other games, see if there's any bad guys?"

"I think-ink-ink-ink so." Sora juddered.

"Hey! You gotta learn to control that!" Donald scolded.

"Mind telling me exactly how, Donald?" Sora frowned back at him.

Donald folded his arms in response, and grumbled something to himself.

"Alright so... which one?" Sora asked of his companions. The station was built like an enormous waiting room. Or station, he reminded himself with a palm to the forehead. A huge oval shape, with rows upon rows of uncomfortable looking chairs through the centre, and a plant and a water cooler every other ten chairs or so to make the place look at least a little friendly.

"Well, Calhoun said this one wus infected?" Goofy was the voice of reason. "Maybe we should check this one first, and just go clockwise?"

"...good thinkin' Goof." Sora nodded in approval. His body still juddered about a bit with his movements, but they were far less jerky now than they had been. Maybe that meant he was getting the hang of it?

But just as confidence began to creep in, his hand flailed of its own accord and slapped him in the face. Maybe not. Donald cackled in laughter, and Sora was ready to backhand the duck when a shock of electric blue zapped past the three of them, barring their path.

"Now wait there just a second eh?" The blue figure raised a hand. He straightened his tie, and consulted a clipboard. "Just makin' sure everything's secure. Do you have clearance?"

Sora flashed the keycard that Calhoun had given him.

"O-oh wow," the security guard threw a quick salute. "S-sorry to question ya sir! Please go on through."

Quick as a flash, the little blue man dissolved into a stream of lightning and bounced back down the station.

"Huh. That was easy." Sora frowned. Stowing his keycard away again, he beckoned the guys forwards, and the three approached the giant archway. The moment they had passed the threshold however, Game Central Station's clean and friendly aesthetic had been lost for more of an... 'aggressively homeless' ambience?

"Man, talk about a fixer upper," Sora scrunched up his nose at the stench. The only other time he'd come across a smell this bad was when he found Cid asleep under a park bench in Traverse Town. With his eyes watering, he dashed through to the little train thing. It chugged along at a desperately slow pace, as if it knew he couldn't stand the smell. But thankfully his nose was spared as the three continued through a dark tunnel into the first game they were to explore. Check for Heartless, or... Cy-bugs or whatever, and make sure there were no other bad guys loitering around. Calhoun was trusting him, and she didn't seem like a lady who trusted anyone easily. So he couldn't let her down.

"Alright guys, I dunno what we'll find when we go through this tunnel," Sora explained to the others, as the light at the end of it grew closer. "So we're just gonna have to trust our gut, and g-whoooa?!"

With a sudden lurch, all three companions were hurled from the train, and onto a solid concrete floor.

"Oww...! Wish someone warned us about that..." Sora rubbed at his jaw. With a stumble, he helped Donald up, and took a good look around this new world he was in.

Temples and statues. Lots of temples. All pointy and old fashioned, like in a ninja movie or something. Sora also found that the three of them were a lot more pixellated than before, rather than just vague blocks of colour. They weren't detailed, but he could flex his fingers again, and Donald's face actually had definition to it.

"Def-f-finitely an improvement, huh guys?" He spoke, and noted the different tone in his voice. More metallic, almost... robotty.

"You did that thing again!" Donald was a lot more monotone too.

"I know, Donald...!" Sora groaned. "I'm tryin' to control it, okay? Quit bugging me ab-"

"Who... are... you?" A voice. Sora span around to confront it, and locked eyes with an overtly muscular man garbed in what looked like an orange military uniform of some sort. The man had already taken a fighting stance, with one arm arcing above him like a claw from a prize grabber, and the other low and defensive. Probably not a guy with a sense of humour.

"Coin Duty'll be here any moment, and now I gotta deal with some kid goin' Turbo in my game? Where you from anyway, virus?"

"Virus?!" Sora muttered to himself. What even was a virus? Like a cold?

The man's body language told Sora he should keep his distance.

"H-hi, I'm Sora. These're Donald and Goofy." The boy bowed low, because that was polite. "S-s-Sergeant Calhoun sent us out here in her place, to make sure the games were all... s-safe and sound, y'know? Have you seen any weird little-"

"Kid. Stop." The man in orange beeped one hand shut, and Sora followed suit. "Now listen carefully. You are in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Coin Duty is here in less than three hundred seconds, and we are not getting unplugged because of some uppity brat thinkin' he's taking over for Calhoun. So unless you turn around and walk away, we'll be forced to kick your butt in ninety nine. So you just take your little virus buddies with you, and go someplace else. You hear me?"

As usual, the threat flew straight past. "...so I'll take that as a no?"

"Ugh..." the man pinched his nose. "Fine then, we'll have to do this the fun way."

He punched one hand into the other, and suddenly the backdrop of temples and things had levelled out into a giant square. Just when Sora thought it couldn't get any weirder, six names 'blorped' up on a nearby wall; Donald's and Goofy's he recognised, but there were three he didn't.

"Who're 'Bison', 'Zangief' and 'Blanka'?" He squinted at the blocky writing on the wall.

"And what's wrong with your name, Sora?" Goofy pointed out. Indeed the boy's name was looking a bit funny, as just the letter 'S' and a few pixellated blobs.

"You better get yourself ready, kid," spoke the man in orange once again. Sora span around to address him, only to find out that he'd been joined by two others. One was about seven feet tall, bearded, even more stupidly muscular, and wearing only bright boots and spandex. The other crouched down more like a gorilla, but had weird greenish skin and an orange sort of mohawk thing. The green one howled, and flexed its claw-like fingers.

"I crush you like sparrow's egg between thighs." The bearded one sure had a heavy accent. He slapped his leg, and let out a deep laugh.

"...uh oh." The gravity of the situation had finally gotten through. A cheesy wrestling bell sounded three times in the background, and an enormous number ninety nine began counting down.

"A-Alright guys, pick a guy and fight!" Sora instructed, and his 'colleagues' leapt into action.

"Who-oa!" Sora leapt out of the way to avoid an electrified fist, and then again as an enormous boot slammed down where his head would've been. A timely handspring had him swerving around and striking the orange man in the side of the face with his keyblade.

There was a beeping up above them, and Sora allowed himself to get distracted by it, noticing that 'Bison's HP bar had decreased. That was one mystery solved.

"Thunder!" Donald squawked, and showered a flume of lightning bolts across the green guy. It just howled again, not seeming fazed by the electricity at all. With a snigger, the green thing tucked itself into a ball and launched itself at Donald, dealing heavy damage.

"Is good to see you again, Comrade Goofy," the big beardy one had wrapped his arms around Goofy's shield, crushing it out of shape. Even despite Calhoun's reinforcements, the thing just was not standing up to beardy's brute strength. "I thought you were unplug year ago!"

"H-how'd'ya know m'name?" Goofy's resistance was crumbling on the other side of his shield.

"How I know you-" the bearded one guffawed. "A-HAH! EVERYONE know Comrade Goofy in arcade. Mister Donald too!"

"W-what about me?" Sora had to evade an elbow drop from Bison.

"You... are stranger, small pointy man." The bearded one squinted his beetle black eyes. The warmth in his conversation had disappeared.

But on the bright side, it gave Goofy a chance to counterattack. His shield met the big man's chin, who recoiled just a little from it, as if hit by a water balloon.

"Zangief, we're here to crush these intruders, not make friends with them." Bison shoved Sora out of the way, and shook his head disapprovingly at the taller man.

"Why not both?!" Zangief grinned, knocking Goofy's shield to the ground and bear hugging him.

"Fine..." Bison grimaced. "Just make sure you w-ungh?!"

Bison's distraction cost him, as Sora hit him in the side of the face with his keyblade. A fresh scar was torn across the man's cheek, and a ribbon of blood surged.

He grit his teeth, "I'll let you have that one for free, virus."

And without even changing his stance, Bison simply launched his entire body forwards. It was coated in some weird sort of energy, and Sora couldn't react nearly fast enough to avoid it.

"Unf...!?" Sora was knocked several metres backwards, feeling as though something had just burst through his stomach. He clattered to the ground, and could taste the metallic sting of blood in his mouth. His vision blurred, and he could just about piece together that Bison's attack had shaved his HP bar clean in half.

Donald wasn't faring much better either. With his Thunder magic useless against the green guy, who must've been Blanka, he had no choice but to try and aim Fire and Ice spells. Which Blanka avoided easily.

The ape like creature zipped between the projectiles like they were nothing, and Donald couldn't defend against its sharp claws for long. With a fierce uppercut the duck was launched, and he gave out a wailing, slow motion, over the top shriek of pain as he fell to the ground. Donald's entire HP bar was depleted, and the duck fell unconscious.

"D-Donald...!" Sora tried to wrench himself upright. The pain in his middle was immense, but Donald was in much worse shape. If only he could get to-

"-too slow, kid." Bison interrupted. A sharp elbow to the head had Sora seeing stars next to Donald, followed immediately by Goofy as Zangief released him from the bear hug.

"YOU, LOSE." Came an automated voice from seemingly nowhere. Some local spectators cheered for the three victors, who wasted no time with their celebrations.

"Not bad for warm up, small man," Zangief offered Sora a hand up. "But you pick wrong target. Comrade Bison is strong against-"

"Zangief, why are you helping them?" Bison glared at the wrestler.

"Because bad guy can also be good guy, Bison." Zangief gave his 'comrade' the brightest smile. "Fight is more fun with real competition, nyet?"

Bison glanced up at the wall above, as all the HP bars and timer were reset. "...I suppose."

Another countdown presented itself on the board, and the automated voice rang, "Round, Two! Fight!"

"Oh gods, again?!" Sora yelped.

"Yes, small man. This time I fight Mister Donald!" Zangief chuckled, and leapt at the duck without warning.

"Whah?!" Donald flailed out of Zangief's grip, and started flapping around the arena as Bison and Blanka bore down on Sora and Goofy.

"Well..." the boy grimaced. He wasn't about to trust a complete stranger, but something about the simply spoken giant seemed pretty believable. With a nod to Goofy, the two stared down respective opponents.

"You think I won't crush you just as easy?" Bison taunted, and launched an electrified fist into Goofy's shield. It rang like a heavy bell though, and Sora could've sworn that Bison was hiding pain beneath that angry expression he always seemed to carry.

Meanwhile Blanka was fast, zipping about almost as fast as Sora's eyes could follow. His reflexes acted before he could, and blocked a strike from the creature, sparing his face from two inch claws.

"Hua?!" The beast howled in confusion, and sprang away like a jack in the box. Sora took his chance and jumped forwards, keyblade in hand. Meanwhile Donald was still evading Zangief.

"I make you into Pirozhki!" There was a manic glint in the giant's eye as he failed to ensnare the duck yet again.

Donald countered with a Fire spell, "You can't eat me! I don't taste good!"

"But you will when I cook you!" Zangief's enormous fists clutched at feathers, and was met with a freezing Blizzard spell as punishment. The goliath yelped in pain as his fingers were frozen solid.

There was another loud clang as Bison's elbow clashed with Goofy's shield, denting it but not breaking his defence. Goofy glared at the man in response, and tucked in tighter, bashing his advances away.

"Got any attacks other than a dumb shield bash?" The military man growled.

"Aw, you bet!" Goofy was suddenly cheery again. With careful aim, he flung the thing, scything between Bison's outstretched arms and thumping him in the stomach.

"Ungh..." Bison slipped to one knee. Goofy wasted no time in collecting his shield and bashing Bison in the side of the head with it.

Then there was a sudden power surge as Blanka dug its claws into the ground and loosed a flare of electricity across its body. Sora was moments too late with his attack, and sunk his keyblade into the nova. The electricity surged through his system thanks to the two feet of metal he was holding.

"Nyaj-j-j-j!" Sora juddered, before shooting off in the other direction. He tumbled across the ground, smoking and jerkier than ever.

Blanka howled in laughter as Sora staggered back to his feet. With a flail in his step, he again readied his keyblade and attacked, dodging around Blanka's legs and striking the thing across the back. Blanka recoiled from pain, and Sora followed up with another gouge to the side.

Meanwhile Zangief couldn't get close enough to Donald for any grappling moves. The duck simply kept firing off magic spells to wear him down. Goofy's shield was proving too tough for Bison to break through as well. His spinning charge could knock Goofy back, but charging headfirst into a heavy shield only did more damage to Bison himself.

"Rraaaooow!" Blanka howled, and covered himself in another layer of electricity. Sora was once again in mid-jump, and had his keyblade prone, ready to strike.

But he cracked it into the ground with a dulled thud, and used his momentum to kick Blanka from the ground. With another roar, the best fell onto its back, and Sora's momentum carried forwards. He wrenched the keyblade back out of the floor and slashed it across Blanka's vulnerable chest.

"Ragh?!" The creature gasped out, spitting up blood. Sora leapt with the Keyblade in hand one last time to finish the job, and-

"TIME, OUT." Came the automated voice, at literally the worst time possible. Sora and the guys watched with baited breath as the game calculated results...

"YOU, WIN."

The handful of spectators cheered for Sora, Donald and Goofy this time, and the young man literally fell out of mid-air with a heavy crash.

"Whew...!" He gasped. "Th-that was a close one!"

"You got lucky, kid," Bison growled. "If it weren't for that last hit, you would've lost."

"Bah! Stop your complainings, Bison. That means we get round three!" Zangief ground his knuckles. But the smile was wiped from his face as an all consuming white light flared up on one side of the 'arena'.

"Hurry small man! Be hiding now!" Zangief gasped, literally shoving Donald behind a nearby pillar. Goofy had scrambled into a tree, and Sora was forced to hide behind Blanka, because he simply didn't have enough time to get anywhere safer.

The green creature huffed and growled, but remained painfully still as the sweeping white light sailed across. It got to Blanka and slowed down, probing his location with extra care. And then a second time, and even a third.

But eventually, it seemed satisfied with the findings, and swept all the way through, eventually dissipating just as quickly as it had appeared.

"That... was too close." Bison rest his head in his palm. "Satisfied kid? Nothin' to see here."

"Huh..." Sora muttered. "So that big light thing... that was Coin Duty?"

"Are you tellin' me that Calhoun seriously sent a noob to-"

Zangief elbowed him.

"Fine..."

The military man lowered his cap, and instead offered Sora a salute. "Thank you for the fight. It was good to have some new opponents for once."

"Come back for round three soon, yes?" Zangief looked hopeful. Sora couldn't help but grin in response.

"You got it guys!" He gave them both a thumbs up. "C'mon Donald, Goofy, let's get onto the next one!"

Goofy fell out of his tree with a yelp, and the three friends departed from Street Fighter. One game down, four to go!

* * *

**Hey guys. An update for you.**

**My Street Fighter canon is rusty at best, but hopefully this made for a good chapter. It was fun to write at least.**

**Feel free to guess what game's coming next!**


	6. Chapter 6

Another uncomfortable train ride had Sora and the guys back in the bright lights of Game Central Station. Again, the place was criminally quiet, with only a few stragglers that didn't seem bothered about getting back to their games.

"Geez. I thought this place'd be so much busier," Sora frowned at how quiet it was. Aside from an incomprehensible tannoy message every few minutes, the place was about as homely as a dentist's waiting room.

"Maybe that Coin Duty lasts longer than we thought?" Goofy shrugged. He and Donald exchanged a confused glance.

"Maybe..." Sora nodded. " We probably shouldn't go into a new game while that Coin Duty is still going on... right? What if we get caught, and it thinks we're monsters or something, and then attacks us?"

"We'll be fine!" Donald dismissed him with a shove towards the connecting station. The blue security guard zapped in front of the three of them as the approached, but then just bowed out of the way upon recognising them all, letting them through.

Sora thought he was ready for the train this time, however it still managed to take him by surprise and catapult him into the next game, where he landed face first into muddy, swampy grass.

"Eeew-w-w-w," he glitched out, wiping pixelated slime from his face. "Where are w-w-we this time?"

"Don't know," said Goofy. The three of them looked around, but couldn't identify anything other than badly rendered grass, and cloudless blue skies. The two merged together so well Sora couldn't even tell where the land ended and the sky began, as if any step forwards would be met with immediate walls.

"This is so weird!" Donald's voice was even more tinny than it was in Fix-it Felix's game. It almost sounded like the duck had gone back to-

Sora jumped as a dull sounding bang ricocheted through the level. Out of the grass several green and brown ducks flapped about madly, escaping into the sky. However there was another bang, and one of the ducks crashed back down to the ground, lifeless.

A little fanfare sounded, and then a huge brownish dog burst out of nowhere. It collected the duck in its jaws, and disappeared with it!

"Donald..." Sora whispered. "You might wanna get d-d-d-down!"

"Why?" Donald squawked at him. "I'm not like those ones! I'll be f-"

There was another blast, and Donald didn't even have chance to finish his sentence. With a cry of surprise, the little white duck fell to the ground, and the fanfare sounded again.

"Donald...!" Sora groaned. The urge to say 'I told you so' was strong. But even if he did, Donald was out cold. Was there even a point in saying it?

Suddenly, the dog reappeared again, and clipped through the grass to Donald's location.

"N-no! No no!" Sora jumped to action. "D-down boy, down! Not for you!"

"Wumff!" The hunting dog gave a loud, sloppy bark in response, and just stared at Sora.

"Not for you!" Sora repeated. "Mine!"

The hunting dog just gently whimpered in response, and gave the big eyes.

"No no, don't look at me like that!" Sora shielded his gaze with his blocky hand. "You can't have him, boy. I'm sorry!"

Then suddenly, the dog barked again and bounded away, leaving Sora and Goofy stranded again. Did that actually work?

"C-c-c'mon Goof, help me with Donald." Sora glitched about Donald's feet. "This place is fine. Let's get outta-"

Without warning, the bright white light began to sweep. Swallowing up the world pixel by blocky pixel, Sora and Goofy couldn't hope to carry Donald quickly enough to evade it.

"It burns...!" Sora gasped, as the light practically melted his corneas. It was over about as soon as it began, but a loud warning siren blared almost immediately after, and red flashes began pulsing instead.

"Wh-what does that mean?!" Sora beckoned to Goofy, who shrugged in response.

"Maybe it's that defence system that Calhoun told us about?"

"That could be bad..." Sora gulped.

"What's going on?!" Donald burst awake at last, loudly and predictably panicking when he noticed all the red lights, "whaaah?!"

"C'mon Donald, we gotta move!" Sora grasped at Donald's wing. The three charged in a direction, hoping some kind of exit or change in scenery would present itself before things got too messy. On their travels, all sorts of pixelated monsters began popping up in their way. Multi-coloured sort of... pointy little things that seemed to just float around and get in the way more than actually attack. Sora could get rid of them with single stroke of the Keyblade, but there were just so many, and they were popping up faster than he could fell them.

"C'mon guys, f-f-find an exit!" Sora's arm glitched through one of the weird alien things as yet more invaded the level. "Either that, or hope this alarm thing runs out soon!"

"Easier said than done!" Donald squawked in protest, loosing a Thunder spell and vaporising about a dozen of the things.

"W-Well, just try your best, go-whoa, whoa!" Sora cried, as his Keyblade arm involuntarily threw him into a nearby wall. Weird. There was a wall there of all places?

It was the same colour as the background, so no wonder he couldn't see it. Every time Sora tried to wrench his arm out of the wall, little greenish blocks would bloop out of it. They slowly built up, and eventually the wall disappeared completely, revealing the connecting train station?

Released from its grip, Sora swiped a space invader away and frowned at the sudden discovery.

"...Alright, I'll take it," he said. "C'mon guys, let's get outta here!"

Sora and his two compatriots bundled themselves into the train carriage, and the ringing of the alarm could still be heard screaming down the tunnel as the trio made their way back.

"...I really hope Calhoun didn't see that," Sora clutched at his heart and chuckled. What else could he do? Despite everything, it was all too ridiculous to not be funny. Donald almost got eaten and the three of them were nearly lost in a world of endless blue and green. All things considered, getting out of that world in one piece was a bit of a-

"-welcome back." A familiar voice pierced Sora's thoughts like a knife through paper. The young man spun around to see a wide-eyed, thin-lipped Calhoun staring him down, and her entire army training their blasters on the three of them.

"...so you heard the alarm?" He grinned awkwardly. With a nudge from Donald, the trio slowly raised their hands.

"Heard it?" She seethed. "Who d'ya think they call when this all goes down, kid? I trusted you to take care of this and lighten the workload, not Frogger it all up and double it!"

"Captain!" One of her men gawped at her.

"Grow up, soldier." Calhoun spat, and the cadet stepped back in line instantly. Calhoun's death stare returned to Sora.

"S-sorry," He winced. "It's just umm, we tried to find somewhere to hide, but that place was like a giant open field. No walls or anything."

"No walls in Duck Shoot? You kiddin' me?" Calhoun frowned. "They're all over the pl - ohh, I guess a newbie like yourself wouldn't be able to see them. Was the game clean at least?"

"Y-yeah, couldn't see anything weird at all." Sora nodded. With Calhoun's approval, her men lowered their weapons, and Sora could literally feel the tension in his chest melt away. "So I'm... not in trouble?"

"I'll let you off this time, got it?" Calhoun looked the other way. "You can make it up to me by taking on those two games. I hate both of them."

"W-why's that?" Sora dared.

"Put it this way, kid, you'll need to be quick on your feet." Calhoun gave Sora a look that he could've sworn was a half-smile. But he knew better, because Calhoun's only mood seemed to be grumpy.

"...Welp, looks like we're doing those two next." Said Sora, as he took note of the yellow tape that was getting wrapped around 'Duck Shoot'.

"And phooey to that!" Donald cursed at the game as the trio made their way into the next connecting station.

"I know right? We probably should've read the title before just diving in, huh?" Sora chuckled.

"You mean like we didn't just then?!" Donald shrieked at him.

"Hey, I got caught up in the moment!" Sora pleaded. "I'll read the next one, promise!"

Sora was prepared for the train to tip him out this time. Before the thing could come to a stop, he leapt from the thing and onto flat ground without any drama.

...just as the thing clicked to a stop at the end of the line. With even less drama.

"...This world hates me." he deflated.

"Let's just get going..." Donald huffed at him, and the trio exited the station. Beyond the doorway however was just empty blackness. The three of them were illuminated brightly, but that only made things even more difficult to see beyond an occasional lit symbol or arrow or something.

"M-maybe those are signs?" Sora pointed to an arrow facing to the right. "Think we should follow-"

"_Ohai-yo_~" a voice sprang out of nowhere, and two long arms wrapped tightly around Sora's shoulders._ "Donald-san! Goofy-dono! Okaeri na-sai!"_

"Huh?" Goofy stammered, as a sprightly blonde woman danced around Sora.

_"Ver-sa Yuni, desu!"_ She placed a hand on her chest. She then pointed at Sora. _"Kimi wa?"_

Immediately, Sora's eyes bulged. "Kimmy... wha?"

_"Yuni desu!"_ The blonde woman repeated. _"Kimi wa?"_

Sora just smiled awkwardly at her. Hers flickered just a little.

"Donald," she pointed at Donald. "Goofy!" she then pointed to Goofy. And then to Sora. Slowly the cogs began turning...

"S... Sora," the boy gulped, with a hand on his chest. "N-nice to me-"

"_Sora-Chan_!" She latched onto him again, and babbled out a whole slew of things in that language he couldn't understand. Suddenly she grabbed both of his arms and dragged the young man across the blackness of the level towards some weird platforms.

"H-hey, wait just a sec-" Sora protested, tripping over his own feet in the meantime. "What are we doing here? What is all this?!"

Donald and Goofy looked just as clueless as he on their identical platforms. Whatever was about to happen, he already wasn't looking forward to it.

"_Dansu Dansu, Revolution!_" The blonde woman - Yuni, was that her name? - thrust an arm up into the air. Suddenly the entire place was illuminated, and the chirpiest, bubbliest, _worst_ kind of music starting playing out of nowhere.

"Did she just say dance?!" Sora cried. That didn't exactly go well in Atlantica. How was he going to survive this?

Instantly he clammed up. His feet suddenly felt like lead weights as arrows began lighting up across the platforms. They were facing in all sorts of directions, and Sora had felt out of place enough in Street Fighter. At least he got to fight stuff there, though.

_"Dansu, Sora-Chan!"_ That Yuni woman chirped at him, and quick as lightning she stomped on lights as they flashed up on their respective panels. Sora cursed his giant feet, and wobbled a shaky leg over one panel. With a stumble and a half-jump, he hit the top right and instantly heard a buzzer noise telling him off.

"What... the?" He grunted. This was madness. There was no way he was surviving this.

Goofy and Donald weren't having much better luck. Was anyone in this team coordinated?

Stamp, stamp, stamp and turn! Sora tried his best to learn! Hop, hop, jump and crash! But these arrows moved too fast!

Sweat was pouring out of him. The heavy, thick uniform Calhoun had made him wear was only making things more difficult, and he could've sworn he was about to black out at any given second. The arrows were blurring, his head was swimming, but the music kept on playing.

And then it changed!

Smooth and seamless, it went from some teenage pop song one moment, and a slower, more guitar-y one the next. Yuni grabbed at the hems of her pants, and began moving in a more of a hip-shakey movement. So Sora supposed he had to do the same. With shaky steps and clumsy stomps, he attempted to follow in Yuni's footsteps on the dance platform thing.

Step, step, stomp and hip-shake, Sora tried to keep up, but it was much too fast, and his team-mates were just, as, help-less.

Step, stum, ble, and trip-up! Sora fell to the floor, he could take no more, Donald got, game, over.

"Sorry...!" The duck wailed, before a giant hammer came out of nowhere, and knocked him unconscious.

Sora ignored the pain in his shins and staggered back upright. He was practically blinded by sweat, but something told him that the ominous red flashing from Donald's 'lane' that game over was not a good thing. What if all three of them got it?

Yuni continued to hit near perfect scores on her lane, as Sora and Goofy struggled along, barely even keeping up with it.

"_Yatta, Sora-Chan, Goofy-Dono_!" Yuni was somehow able to keep up conversation while dancing on this thing, meanwhile Sora could barely see for the sweat cascading from his brow. It had to be over soon. Please be over soon.

Another hip-shake and a twirl gave them a moment's break, as the banjo music died down and faded away. Yuni beamed at them both as Donald remained unconscious.

_"Sugoi, Sugoiii!"_ She clapped at the both of them, not even looking like she'd broken a sweat. But then she immediately snapped back to attention as more arrows began moving down the lanes. Sora groaned, and straightened up again, just in time for

Two, stomps!

Two, stomps!

Faster, faster, music was playing, and Sora, Goofy, both had to hop!

Hop, and skip, and jump onto other foot, hopping and jumping and Goofy was falling down.

"Goofy!" Sora spluttered out, his vision blurring as he barely kept up with the madness on the screen.

"I'll be alright Sora!" Goofy gasped out, starfishing on the floor. "Jus' you make sure ya beat this, ya got-"

Again, the giant hammer wheedled its way out, and bonked Goofy on the head, where he immediately lost consciousness.

"D-dammit...!" Sora sputtered. His legs were screaming at him for rest now. With all this hopping and skipping, he was missing notes all over the place. Either side of him, Goofy and Donald's lanes taunted with their 'Game Over!' screens.

_"Subarashii, Sora-Chan!_" Yuni sounded like she was praising him. For all Sora knew, she could've been taunting him after all. _"Ganbarou!"_

He tried his best to block out her high pitched, squeaky voice, and focus on the arrows, which were floating across the floor almost as fast as his eyes could process.

The hopping and hopping and skipping, awa-aayyy! The skipping and sweating and slipping, awa-aayy!

Every joint Sora possessed felt like lead weights now. It had to be over soon, it just had to.

Another stumble had the young man missing several notes in a row, and his screen began flashing red. The smile vanished from Yuni's face as her score was still all but perfect. Sora staggered back to his position, the angry red glow taunting him. He could barely even lift his legs now, but still, that game over screen threatened. His legs wobbled just in time to hit for

Two stomps!

And two more!

The last of his strength slipped away from him and he crashed to the ground as a loud, fret heavy guitar solo played out the end of the song. Sora couldn't see any more arrows floating down his lane. Had he really done it? Did he pass?

'Well done!' Flashed up on the screen, and Sora felt his consciousness ripped from the ground as Yuni literally hauled him into the air.

_"Sora-Chan!"_ Her arms were like a vice as she bear hugged him. _"_Nice work!"

"Hunh?" The lad mumbled. "Y-you speak English?"

But then she danced around, gabbling things in her own language once again. Maybe not...

Two scores vaulted up high on the screen, with Yuni's putting Sora's to shame. But that wasn't important. Because he made it. He didn't get game over. His bleary mind didn't even know if that made a difference, but it was satisfying all the same. He staggered about on his exhausted feet as Goofy and Donald slowly returned to consciousness.

"Whah?!" Donald gasped, bursting upright. "Are we dead?!"

"Huh?" Goofy echoed Donald. "Did ya do it, Sora?"

"Like, barely," Sora grit his teeth.

"Sora-Chaaan~" Yuni was all sing-songy again. Sora wrenched himself around to address her, only to find her bowing?

_"A-arigato!"_ Her voice was suddenly all choked and squeaky. "_Sugu ni modotte?"_

"Eheh... sure?" Sora frowned. What the woman had just asked, he wasn't certain, but either way she was ecstatic at his answer, leaping forward and wrapping him up in another bone crushing hug. She continued to dance around him like a moth around a flame all the way back to the train station, where he promptly collapsed into it.

"_Bai-bai, Sora-Chan, Donald-San, Goofy-Dono!_" She waved, if it were possible, with even more vigour as the train rattled back.

"...what was that?" Sora broke the awkward silence as the lights of Game Central Station grew ever closer.

"I dunno," Goofy scratched at his chin. "But I think she likes ya, Sora!"

* * *

**Author's note:**

**Hey there guys. First things first; if my bad Japanese insults anyone, please let me know. I just thought it'd be cuter if she spoke Japanese instead of English.**

**Second, I've never actually played DDR, so I've no clue how accurate any of it is. I just knew it'd be about the most entertaining arcade game Sora could get lost in, and let's face it, that's the important part right?**

**As always, feel free to leave feedback if you've got anything to say :)**


	7. Chapter 7

First things first; it was time for a break. Sora's leg muscles were cramping so badly that he could barely get out of the connecting train, and Calhoun had said something about him needing them in this next one as well.

He collapsed into a bench and shed some of the heavy armour he'd been entombed in for the past few hours. Goofy obliged, and even Donald didn't argue, falling down beside him and immediately retrieving water from the cooler to his right.

"This is the first good idea you've had all day, Sora!" He'd already emptied three of those tiny styrofoam cups. "...want one?"

"Sure..." Sora could barely raise an arm to grab at the thing, but it didn't make any difference anyway. The moment his fingers wrapped around the cup, it exploded in a mass of murky green blocks, spilling water everywhere.

"...fine then," he didn't have the energy to be surprised any more. "Why does that happen to only me?"

"Gee, I dunno Sora!" Goofy added an enthusiastic note. "Maybe it's got somethin' ta do with how ev'ryone here knows Donald 'n' me, but not you?"

"That doesn't make any sense," Sora sighed. "You guys aren't video game characters... are you?"

Again, another bright blue mass of energy rippled down the walls of Game Central Station, causing a few commuting game characters to jump back in shock.

"Maybe in this world?" Donald shrugged.

"True. I guess rules change from world to world huh?" Sora shrugged. Even with that little tidbit though, the rules in this one seemed weird. Donald and Goofy seemed to be almost celebrities, yet he was unheard of, even treated as the bad guy. In a place he'd definitely never been before. Even Tron's world was more inviting than this.

"Welp, no point in just sitting around." Sora groaned. His stiff legs screamed at him, but he pushed the pain to one side and staggered back to his feet.

"This one is... Pac-Man, apparently." He nodded at the plaque above the entry tunnel, before looking to Donald and Goofy. Both of them just returned blank looks at him, to which he sighed. So much for reading the name first. What good did that do?

Even the train was ominously quiet. The little engine rode the rails silently, with only a little click as it hit the bumper at the end of the line. The trio jumped out to find another endless expanse of near pitch black. There was the occasional faded outline of a wall, near invisible against the darkness, but that was the only clue that anything at all was even happening here. If Sora focused, he could just about pick up a muted, whirring sort of a noise, but that could've been anything.

"...hello?" He called into the darkness. Something had to be here, right? Calhoun wouldn't just send him to some empty world, would she?

The farther they explored, the more his confusion grew. Only darkness and whirring, in every direction.

"Ugh, this is fruitless!" Donald was the first to complain, wrenching his wings towards the 'sky'.

"Fruitless?" Sora frowned. "W-what do you mean, Donald?"

The duck simply snorted at him in response.

"I think he means he needs fruit!" Goofy was the voice of enthusiasm, as always. "Hold on a sec, I'll getcha some! There was some back here somewheres!"

Donald facepalmed. "No, no, I didn't mean-"

"YAAAAGH!"

Goofy's cry resonated through the twilit labyrinth, clear as a bell. Suddenly the whirring intensified, and Goofy was practically galloping back towards them.

"Hay-lp!" He cried, clutching a bunch of pixelated cherries to his chest. "There's monsters!"

"Monsters?!" Sora sprung into action, instinctively drawing his keyblade. "Heartless? Nobodies?"

"I don't know!" Goofy charged past them both. "But it ain't friendly!"

Goofy ricocheted around the nearest corner, just as an enormous mass of red surged past the previous one. Several feet tall, with the body of a jell-o and wide, staring eyes, it nevertheless floated towards Sora and a Donald at an alarming pace. Sora shoved Donald out of the way, and took off in a different direction from Goofy, tearing down this pitch black labyrinth with its near invisible walls. No matter how fast his feet could carry him, the weird red alien thing kept up with ease. Already feeling his legs start to cramp up, he looked around desperately. There had to be a clue somewhere! A safe room or something that stopped them from getting eaten by giant, neon monsters would've been really nice right about now.

Sora flailed and fired a Blizzard spell behind him. The icy floor succeeded in slowing down his pursuer as he bounced off of a corner and staggered away down a different path, only to have to screech to a halt as Goofy rocketed down an adjacent path with a bright green one soaring after him. Despite looking like a tennis ball wearing a bedsheet, it was still terrifying.

"There's more of them!" He exclaimed to no one, just as Donald charged down a different path, with a bright pink one in hot pursuit. He fell into a wall and stumbled, but Sora didn't have time to see what happened when the pink one caught him, because the red one had escaped from its ice patch and resumed the chase. Sora hurtled down hallways and careered around corners, but no matter what he did, he couldn't shake this thing off.

Suddenly his heart gave a lurch as Goofy's voice echoed through the labyrinth.

"Yaoo-!" His cry was cut short, and a bright green light swallowed up a section of the maze to the left. It ebbed away, leaving Sora alone with the red creature. He didn't have time to worry about what had happened to his comrades, because the thing was still wobbling after him at a dangerous speed. It was only so long before his legs would give out on him and-

"Whah?!" He yelped, as something grabbed him around the neck. Before he could even react to whatever it was, he'd been pulled out of the maze entirely, and into the blinding lights of a... staff room?

"What... the?" Sora's eyes were mere pinpricks, it was that bright. After a moment's focusing, he could recognise the familiar scowl of Ralph. Of all people.

A moment's more confusion, and he spotted Donald and Goofy, perched awkwardly in a corner of the room and covered in pink and green goop, respectively.

"Guys...?!" He noticed at last. "Guys! You're okay! What hap-"

Before he could finish his question however, a bright red mass surged into the doorway. Immediately did Sora's heart gave another lurch, but no one else in the room seemed to care about its appearance.

It blinked at him once, and then floated away again. As if things weren't confusing enough already.

"What's... goin' on?" Sora felt the need to whisper to Ralph, who just gave him a forlorn look in return.

"Just stay quiet." He hissed.

Sora deflated, and edged around a circle of chairs to the other side of the room where Donald and Goofy were. Ralph was sunk into one chair looking particularly morose, while there was a collection of other game characters that Sora didn't recognise in various spiky uniforms.

And then Zangief waved brightly at the three of them. Still dressed in his bright red spandex leotard, he seemed more than elated that the trio were there.

"Comrade Donald! Is fortuitous you are here, yes?" He called out, only to receive a whack to the back of the head from M. Bison to his left.

"Shut it, idiot." Bison chided. "Those good guys have no place here at BA, so don't you welcome them."

"BA?" Sora muttered. "Cid went to AA once? Maybe it's the s-"

"-all rise."

A deep voice derailed Sora's train of thought, and this time a bright orange mass flooded into the room. There was a hasty scraping of chairs, followed by the clatter of one falling over, as the circle of surly characters stood up.

The orange monster thing cleared its throat. "Ahem! Good morning, Bad Anon. How are we today?"

There was a smatter of hushed muttering from the circle.

"Good good," the orange thing floated on top of an empty chair. "Please take a seat, everyone."

More chairs scraped back into place, with Zangief picking his back up.

"Now, first things first, I've noticed a few new faces today, and I have to say that I'm a little surprised." The orange creature continued. "Would you care to introduce your-"

"Err, Clyde?"

Ralph raised a hand. The orange creature blinked at him.

"...yes, Ralph?"

"They uhh..." Ralph blushed furiously. "They don't belong here."

"Nonsense, Ralph." 'Clyde' dismissed him. "At Bad Anon, we turn no one away. All Bad Guys are welcome here."

"See uh, that's the thing?" Ralph grimaced, showing a lot of teeth. "They aren't Bad Guys. We just brought 'em in here to stop them making a mess out there."

Clyde's facial expression didn't change. "Well, I suppose that is a relief on some levels. I wasn't sure I was ready to hear how Donald and Goofy had switched sides. So you're just sitting in today?"

Donald and Goofy exchanged a look, before nodding back at Clyde. It narrowed its eyes and looked to Sora, however. "...you, I'm not sure on. What's your story?"

"I umm..." Sora coughed. "I-I'm Sora, and S-Sereant Calhoun asked us to ch-ch-ch-ch-"

Once again, his limbs began seizing. He rest against a table in the corner to try and steady himself, only for the thing to glitch and collapse shortly after. A bowl of fruit and several cups of what looked like fruit drink spilled everywhere from his efforts.

"...sorry!" Frustration forced its way out, despite him. He didn't have time to stagger back to his feet however, because something had already lifted him by the neck.

"I was looking... forward... to that orange drink!" Bison seethed at him. "Orange is my favourite... flavour!"

Both Goofy and Donald sprung forwards, trying to wrench Sora away, but Bison's trip held strong.

"H-hey, I said I was... s-sorry!" Sora clutched onto the man's hand, his legs dangling uselessly in mid-air. "Accidents happen!"

"There are no accidents. Only mistakes." Bison spat. "And you know what I think? I think you're the worst kinda mistake, you little vir-"

"-that will be enough." Clyde's calm voice broke through the uproar. "I'm disappointed, M Bison. You should know better than that."

"If you fools can't see that there's something wrong about him..." Bison growled, with Sora still dangling from his hand.

"We can't help what is in our code, M. Bison." Clyde's voice was low and dangerous.

"Yes, per-heps look inside heart, Comrade." Zangief placed a creepy hand against Bison's chest. "You are bad guy, yes. But not bad, guy. So put spiky small man down, nyet?"

"Besides, he already said he was sorry...!" Ralph chipped in, actually sounding invested for once.

"Bleeding hearts, all of you." Bison grit his teeth. He threw Sora to the ground, and lowered the visor on his cap as low as it would go. Meanwhile Sora gulped down precious air again on the floor.

"...well, that's all our time used up, I'm afraid." Clyde rolled its eyes. "So let's finish up with the declaration, okay? After me."

The circle of bad guys all stood to attention in near unison, and began chanting;

"I am bad,

And that's good.

I will never be good,

And that's not bad.

There's no one I'd rather be but me."

Suddenly the awkward atmosphere dissolved away, and left a room full of jovial, if strained, conversation. With the occasional nod at Clyde, the dozen or so Bad Guys started filtering out of the room.

"Okay, we'll meet again in two weeks." Clyde advised, before audibly sighing and floating away with the bulk of the crowds. Leaving just Sora, Donald, Goofy, Ralph, and a straggler Zangief.

"Am sorry Comrade Bison had to chokings you." He wrung Sora's hand. "He is nice man once you get to know h-!"

Suddenly an arm wrapped around Zangief's shoulder, and literally threw him across the room and out of the door.

"Get movin', Zangief." Bison adjusted his cap, before pointing at Sora. "And don't think I've forgotten about you... kid."

Bison stomped away, leaving just the four of them.

Sora glanced up to Ralph, who seemed even more sullen than normal.

"Hey uhh... thanks, Ralph. For sticking up for me."

"It's fine," Ralph dismissed. "Just maybe don't get yourself in trouble so much, huh?"

"He can't help it." Donald snickered, and got a warning look from Sora.

"Easier said than done, buddy. Trouble just seems to follow me."

"Yeah well... just be careful!" Ralph huffed.

"You got it." Sora chuckled. He waded into one of his many pockets and extracted the walkie talkie. "...Sergeant Calhoun? You there?"

There was a few moments of silence before a voice crackled back. "...that you, Sora? You're supposed to say 'over' when you're finished, over!"

"S-sorry! Not used to this! O-over!" Sora flailed back.

"Yeah, I gathered. Anyway, I take it that's you done with your checks? Over."

"Uh huh. Four games checked, with nothing serious to report. Over."

"Good man. Meet me at Game Central, a-sap. Last job's a big one. Being Wreck-it if possible. Over."

"Hear you loud and clear, over and out." Sora pocketed the walkie talkie. With a nod to his companions, the four of them made their way back.

* * *

**Author's note:**

**Hey dudes. I thought Pac-Man would be a fun adventure for Sora, even if it just meant intruding on BA and getting gooped. We learned a bit more about Ralph and some other Bad Guys too, which is fun.**

**As always, feel free to leave some feedback if you had thoughts! Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

Just as promised, Calhoun was ready and waiting for them all at Game Central Station. Blaster hooked over one shoulder, she almost looked happy to see their little group return from the depths of Pac-Man.

"You sure took your sweet time, rookie." She raised her eyebrows at him.

"S-sorry!" Sora flustered. "The train back was super slow, a-and-"

"-kidding, Sora. Geez," Calhoun buried her face in one hand. "Honestly, you got here pretty quick. Good work kid."

"...oh," Sora shuffled to a halt. He took a moment to look around the station. For the first time since his arrival, the place looked lively, with dozens of colourful characters going about their business. Ones from clearly different games were engaged in conversation around the many water coolers, and for once Sora was able to appreciate the community of Game Central Station rather than the hollow shell.

"...does that mean Coin Duty's over?" The lightbulb flickered.

"Yup," Calhoun said. "Means we've got a few hours before the next one, meaning I can take on a big job. And since you've actually proved yourself useful, you can lend a hand."

"Really...?" Sora lit up.

"Uh huh." Calhoun said. "You too if you want, Wreck-It. Gonna behave?"

"Oh! Erm, err, y-yes ma'am!" Ralph threw a giant hand to his head. "I'll do my best!"

"Glad to hear it." She nodded. "So listen up. It'll be just us goin' into this game, and there's a confirmed infestation of Cy-Bugs. Maybe even worse than Hero's Duty. Are you prepared? Cause this one's probably the worst of 'em all."

Sora shared a quick glance between Donald, Goofy and Ralph, before nodding back. "R-ready."

"Alrighty then." Calhoun said. A visible grimace marred her face even before she could turn to face the game in question. With an obvious sigh, she led her troops forward.

If Sora were completely honest, he was expecting some awful tragedy behind the gate. Like another one of those ones with all the guns and stuff, or maybe zombies. The look on Calhoun's face certainly suggested something awful. But it seemed as though this world was set out to surprise him and nothing else.

The moment their connecting train rattled out of the tunnel, Sora was practically blinded by just how bright it all was. Most of the last games he'd visited were surrounded by darkness and not much else. This one was anything but. It took his eyes a moment or two to focus, but once he realised...

"...candy?!" He gasped. An entire world made of candy! Candy cane trees! Marshmallow snowmen! Chocolate lakes! Gingerbread houses!

"Disgusting, isn't it?" Calhoun scowled. "All this sugar's probably what drew the damn Cy-Bugs here."

"I mean um, yeah, it's an awful place." Sora suddenly lowered his voice, prompting a snigger from Donald.

Calhoun made a one-hand volley out of the little train, sliding down the cotton candy hill with her blaster in hand. She glanced back up at the carriage, noticing all four of her 'companions' still sat in it.

"Well what're you waiting for, the Easter bunny?" She groaned.

"E-heh," Sora's chuckle betrayed him. He was nevertheless the first to make an attempt however, grabbing hold of the rim of the carriage with both hands and clumsily vaulting over. He managed to stick the landing, but was quickly joined by Goofy and Donald, both of whom sent the trio tumbling down, picking up cotton candy on their way and stopping at Calhoun's feet.

"You three can't do anything without makin' a mess, huh?" She sighed. "Where's Wreck-It? He's probably even w-"

"-I'm right here." Ralph grunted. Calhoun span around and noted the giant, just standing there with a forlorn look on his face.

"And you just waited for the train to come to a stop?" She deflated. "C'mon, where's your sense of urgency? At least these three tried."

"Well I gotta be careful!" Ralph protested. "Otherwise I end up breaking things!"

"...well I guess we shouldn't wreck the joint immediately. Good thinking." She nodded up at him. "C'mon you three," she kicked the giant snowball of cotton candy, "No time for a song."

"Song...?" Sora wrenched himself out of the cotton candy. "Why... would we be singing?"

He levered one foot against the boulder, and tugged Donald out of the sticky mess, followed by Goofy. Calhoun was nice enough to at least slow down, let them catch up. The hard chocolate sidewalks were proving much friendlier to Sora's feet than the sticky cotton candy at least, but he couldn't help notice... how silent it all was. They'd been walking for several minutes through this enormous food based world, yet not seen another character, or even any hint of an actual game. Or indeed Cy-Bugs.

"So uhh... what kinda game is this?" Sora felt the need to ask after a long period of walking and silence. "Cause all we've done so far is get stuck in candy."

Calhoun rolled her eyes. "...I guess you deserve that much. This game is Sugar Rush, and it's one of those Go Kart games where you race around a stupid little track, get power ups, yada yada. Like Mario did way back. This one's gimmick is, you guessed it, sugar. Everythin' in this damn game is edible."

"Everything?!" Donald shrieked.

"Uh huh," Calhoun rubbed at her forehead. "And I'm getting a migraine from just bein' in it, so I'd appreciate it if you kept the questions to a minimum."

Sora shrugged, and nodded. Seemed fair enough. Her game was pretty dark, as were most of the others, come to think of it, so it only made sense that one this bright and cheerful would give her a headache.

Their little group crested over a hill where, after pushing some gummy bear bushes out of the way, Sora could finally see civilisation. As expected of a racing game, a dark ribbon of dark chocolate asphalt stretched out in front of them, with graham cracker barriers, liquorice signs, and even surprisingly inedible looking stands for the supporters. They looked more like the boxes the candy came in rather than the candy itself, Sora reasoned.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A chipper sounding voice hollered into the loudspeaker, "Thank you for joining us today! Now that Coin Duty is finally over, we can enjoy a race or two. Assuming there are no distractions, maybe even three!"

"Ooh, there's a race starting!" Sora couldn't hide his excitement. "A-are we gonna watch it?"

"What part of Cy-Bug infestation didn't you get, Sora?" Calhoun grimaced. "We can't just sit back and watch a bunch of candy-coated nutjobs drive around a track! We're here on business, remember?"

"Well... you can track 'em, right? And they're drawn to me, so they'd turn up wherever I-"

"Negative, soldier." Calhoun shut that down instantly. "You wanna go endangering civilians so you can watch a race? Not on my watch."

Sora's shoulders sunk. "...fair enough I guess."

"Anyone else wanna go watch the pretty cars go drive in circles?" Calhoun's cheek dimpled. Immediately she was met with a lot of frenzied flailing from the other three.

"...good!" She smirked. "Alright troops. We will be heading towards the starting line, but it is out of a strict professional interest, you hear me Sora? I don't want anyone yahooin' on the sidelines."

"I hear ya..." Sora grumbled, kicking a macaron pebble along the ground.

"What was that?"

"Y-yes ma'am!" Sora took his voice up a notch. The last thing he needed was to get her angry at him. She was scary enough when she was happy.

"Better!" Calhoun glanced over her shoulder at him. "Now, let's stay outta sight as much as possible, got it? Wreck-It... try your best."

"Gotcha..." Ralph grumbled, and crouched down between two of the spectator stands. The rest of them simply lined up alongside the barriers. Meanwhile, the same jovial voice was still blaring over the loudspeaker;

"Y-yes, it isn't long now until the beginning of our first race, folks!" He lisped. "Here come our drivers!"

Out onto the track walked maybe ten other people. Much like the rest of the game, even they seemed based off food of some sort, be it cookies, fruit, or even cupcakes, complete with a candle on top. And then one little hooded figure snuck in the back, seeming to want as little attention as possible. But they were on the lookout for Cy-Bugs, so the inter-social politics of a candy go kart game were going to have to wait.

"Now remember everyone!" The cheerful guy on the loudspeaker continued. "Your finishing positions will determine the starting roster for Coin Duty! So the better your position, the better chance you have of being picked! Now, if all participants could hold up one of their gold coins from previous winnings, the race can officially... start!"

All of the dozen or so drivers held up one arm, and what must've been a coin sparkled in the sunlight, sending a stream of light up to the skies above.

"Who was... who was that one in last place there, Sour Bill?" The guy on loudspeaker muttered, and the hooded figure in last place flinched upon being addressed. Their hood fell back, and an almighty gasp rippled through the crowds.

"...the glitch?!" The loudspeaker cawed. "Guards, security! Get that glitch! She can_not_ be allowed to race!"

The hooded person yelped in fright and took off, jumping clean over a doughnut cop. Sora had to chuckle for a second at that, but concern quickly took hold as more cops appeared in an attempt to corner the poor kid.

"Should we... do something?" He asked Calhoun.

"Negative, Sora," Calhoun shook her head. "We don't wanna interfere. This is a Sugar Rush problem, and we're on the lookout for Cy-Bugs only. Got that?"

"...got it," Sora sighed. First he couldn't watch the race, and now he couldn't help a kid who was clearly in trouble?

That just didn't sit right. Weren't Calhoun and her men supposed to help those who needed it?

The kid had like eight cops chasing after her now. If anyone needed a hand, it was her.

But life threw yet another curveball when this kid began to glow green. She pushed one of the doughnut cops into another, which merged together for some reason, and then teleported past the lot of them.

"Urgh...! Just get her!" The loudspeaker screeched. "That _glitch_ is to come nowhere near this racetrack. You hear me?!"

Sora raised a hand in the direction of the kid, who had just shot away over the horizon like a bolt of lightning. "Now can we go help her?!

"She don't need it, Sora!" Calhoun commanded, as there was the ground suddenly began shaking. Citizens and authority figures alike started running about in a panic as the sky itself darkened from the sheer onslaught of incoming Cy-Bugs.

"Take your positions, soldiers!" Calhoun grabbed her blaster. "Cy-Bugs at twelve o'clock!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Hey there everyone. Onto the main body of the plot now, with the Sugar Rush and the fighting. Those who have seen Wreck-it Ralph can probably guess what's gonna happen over the next few chapters, but I won't spoil it in here. **

**As always, thanks for reading. If you've got feedback of any sort, feel free to share it. Over and out :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Mystery girl pushed to the back of his mind, Sora drew his keyblade and refocused on the oncoming swarm of Cy-Bugs. Much like the others, these ones also had a look of Heartless about them, with the jaunty limbs and bright yellow eyes. Though that could've been how they looked normally, he supposed. Blocking out the very sun itself with their sheer volume, they must've numbered in the thousands at least.

"Alright Goof, we need to get closer." Sora made his first instruction. "Calhoun's got range, so she's fine, but-"

"-No time for that, kid!" Ralph practically wrenched his arm off. He sat Sora on his shoulders, then tucked both Donald and Goofy under an arm each. "Hold on tight, okay?!"

Sora wasn't going to argue with the giant. He grabbed onto whatever he could as Ralph suddenly took off running. With an enormous, lunging step, he cleared a good ten metres in a single bound. That distance was doubled with the next jump, followed by an almighty leap towards the race track in the distance. Ralph cannonballed into a giant cotton candy bush, then freed up just enough room for the other three to squirm their way out of it.

"No no no, don't worry about me!" Ralph forestalled Sora's attempts to heave him out of the bush. "Just get in there and start fighting! I'll catch up!"

Sora hesitated for just a moment, then nodded. "A-alright then. You were a great help! C'mon guys!"

The trio had made but a few steps before the need for action arose. An enormous Cy-Bug burst out from behind one of the stands and screeched at Sora, who reacted and lit it up from within using a Firaga spell. The Cy-Bug exploded into a goopy mess, and Donald cottoned on, igniting another one as it swooped in. Goofy would bounce Cy-Bugs left and right with his shield, as a near constant stream of bullets flashed through the sky courtesy of Calhoun's blaster.

Ralph eventually pulled himself out of the bush and joined in, crushing one Cy-Bug between his mighty hands and running it into the business end of Goofy's shield. With another ridiculous leap he practically took off skywards, plucking one from the skies and bringing his full weight down upon it. Sora and Donald charged up and combined Firaga spells, launching a super-heated ball of flame into the heavens and frying dozens at once.

Suddenly, a heavy weight barrelled into Sora from the side and knocked him over. He compensated into a clumsy commando roll and slashed his Keyblade outwards, but it merely scratched against tough shell as a huge, imposing Cy-Bug stood over him. It shrieked once again, illuminating a bright green glow from within, and Sora had to tumble out of the way to avoid a belching mass of some liquid. A liquid that quickly melted its way through the floor.

"…phew! Close one." He wiped his brow. Ralph's fist connected with it however, sending it soaring off into the distance. Meanwhile another Cy-Bug had learned to keep Goofy at bay by vibrating its wings. The vibrations carried through Goofy's shield, rendering him entirely immobile. A Firaga spell from Donald was slowed down to a crawl from the pulsing sound waves, and even Calhoun's bullets couldn't break through. Others started following its lead, also vibrating their wings and magnifying the effect.

"Aw man. What can we do now?!" Sora cried, as his Thundaga spell bounced helplessly from the sound waves. Blizzaga was only blown right back at him too. The fierce vibrations were growing stronger with every passing second, building a steady wind with it that was uprooting plants and blowing away trash cans. The gust strengthened, and one of the viewing stands collapsed shut like a mousetrap.

"Don't… know!" Donald squawked, holding onto a nearby tree for all he was worth. Goofy held his shield in front of him, edging slowly closer, but the duck's grip ultimately gave way, sending him rolling across the ground.

"I gotcha!" Ralph's enormous hand caught Donald like he were merely a wayward tennis ball. "We gotta find a way to stop them from doing that!"

"Uhh…" Donald tapped his staff against his forehead. "S-Sora! Try charging up your spells for more power!"

Sora had pierced the ground his with Keyblade, and hopefully that would stop him from getting blown away too. "I'll… I'll give it a shot! Goofy, can ya cover me?!"

"O-kay, Sora!" Goofy cried, sidestepping his way in front of Sora. The piercing winds whistled furiously around Goofy's shield instead, and Sora focused his energy the best he could, building up a glowing ball of flame from behind the shield's safety. The super concentrated fireball rippled with power for all of a moment, but quickly withered and died, snuffed out like a candle the moment it left Goofy's safety barrier.

"Ungh…!" Sora grunted, and screwed his face up with even more concentration. "A-any luck, Donald?!"

Donald took in a breath, grunting with effort as another, even brighter ball of flame began to glow at the top of his staff, with Ralph's enormous frame providing an ample barrier against the wind.

"I'll give it a go…!" He gasped, limbering up for the attack. Staff in hand, Donald threw the ball of flame forward, which surged against the howling winds. Reality itself was distorting from the energy being released, but despite the efforts, even Donald's powered up Firaga couldn't pierce the barrier. It lasted longer than Sora's, but it too waned before long, evaporating into a wisp. Donald crashed down onto one knee, gasping and spluttering.

The race track was starting to come apart now, with the winds blowing away signs, tearing chunks out of the chocolate asphalt and even shaking buildings. The jester guy and the green guy continued to huddle together at the top of the commentator's tower, all while the winds only got fiercer. Sora could've sworn there were even flashes of lightning from within.

"…we gotta try again, Donald!" Sora cried, staggering back to his feet. His hands were shaking from the effort, but he reckoned he had enough in him for maybe one more shot at this. Forehead creased and breathing ragged, Sora focused as much mana as he could…

"Hey!" A voice called from the distance. "Give this a try!"

Sora glanced back over his shoulder just in time to see Calhoun holding a glowing red thing. She threw it towards them, where it covered about a third of the distance and landed in the cotton candy grass. A crimson blast exploded from it, sending a pulse of light into the skies above. Almost immediately the vibrations stopped, followed by the surging winds, as the horde of Cy-Bugs lit up in curiosity. Murmuring like a hive of bees, the thousands of Cy-Bugs floated lazily over to the bright red glowstick thing that Calhoun had thrown, seemingly entranced by it. Sora simply watched, smirking, but then remembered himself. "…oh! That's right! Donald, now's our chance!"

"Alright…" Donald let out a low hiss and grasped at the top of his staff with both wings. Sora pinched at the bridge of his nose, taking in a deep breath.

"T…" he stumbled. "Tor…nado!"

Immediately his arm seized from the effort, but it was worth it for the viciously whirling cyclone that enveloped the Cy-Bug horde. Angry buzzing could be heard from within it, but this time it was _their_ vibrations that couldn't pierce the raging winds.

"Okay Donald… go!" Sora cried, and Donald took aim.

Donald pointed his staff at the Cy-Bug tornado. Eyes lidded, breathing heavy, he gave it his best.

"Flare!" The duck shrieked, unleashing an almighty blast of energy from his staff. It was swallowed into the tornado for all of a moment, before igniting the entire vortex. Waves of energy pulsed outwards from the maelstrom, knocking down buildings, trees, and everything in their path except for Ralph, who received a stop sign to the face for his efforts.

Myriads of pained screams escaped the flare-nado as Cy-Bugs began exploding en masse, spilling green goop everywhere. Another burst of energy throbbed outwards, this one bowling even Ralph over, before the firestorm slowly dissipated into the atmosphere, leaving behind a ring of scorched ground and a crater full of goop.

"Whoa…" Ralph pushed himself back to his feet. "And I thought I was good at wrecking things. This place is a _mess!"_

"I'll say," Calhoun was, for once, without a snarky reply. "You must've taken out hundreds of them there, in one attack. That was ama-"

Sora looked up just in time, and caught the half a smile on her lips.

"…ahem." Calhoun cleared her throat. "G-good work, troops. We just took out a huge number of Cy-Bugs there. Couldn't have done it without you guys."

She held out a hand, helping Sora to his feet.

"Th-thanks…" He suddenly felt twice as heavy, now that the adrenaline had worn off. "Oh, whoa…" he wobbled, clutching at his head. "Does… does anyone have any Ether? I could really use one of those right now."

"Hmm…" Goofy rattled through his pockets. "Nnnope! I'm all out, Sora! Sorry!"

"Don't worry about it," Sora groaned. "What about you, Donald?"

But there was no sarcastic reply from Donald either. Odd, Sora noted. He was almost starting to miss those. But on closer inspection, it turned out that Donald's lack of sarcasm was because he was just lying there, on the ground, all tuckered out.

"…Heh. You too, buddy?" He couldn't help but chuckle. "Man, we kicked some butt huh?"

Donald muttered a few noncommittal duck noises, flapping a wing in Sora's vague direction.

Sora knelt down next to him. "Yeah, don't blame you there. Think we can maybe take a rest, S-Sarge?"

"Well…" Calhoun looked upon Donald's lethargic state with both hands on her hips. "We've still got to make a sweep of the game, flush out any remaining Cy-Bugs, plus there's another Coin Duty coming up soon…"

Sora grimaced. Things weren't sounding hopeful. The last thing he wanted was to burden Calhoun, even if he did just save the day with a super awesome fire tornado.

But then Calhoun shrugged. "Ah, hell. Take five, gentlemen. You've earned it."

The tension melted from Sora's shoulders almost instantly. With a sigh of relief, he collapsed into a sitting position on the ground. Calhoun merely glanced around, surveying the damage, while Goofy joined up with the other members of his trio and Ralph stomped towards the commentator's tower, which was somehow still standing.

"Hmm…" the big man mused, tugging at the weary structure. A frightened yelp burst from its depths, and Ralph wove an arm into the rickety remains, feeling around for something. The muffled screaming got louder as Ralph searched about like a crow in a vending machine, eventually plucking the source of it all from within.

The jester guy and his little green friend continued to scream while holding onto each other, despite being safe from the building. Ralph and Calhoun simply shared an exasperated glance, waiting for the screaming to end. The green one eventually opened its eyes and then only redoubled its efforts upon seeing Ralph holding it. "No no no, don't eat us…!"

Ralph's face fell. "I'm not gonna eat you. Why would I do that?"

"Y… you're not a monster?" The little green guy muttered.

"Hard as it is to believe, no I am not." Ralph deadpanned.

"…oh." The green guy said. His companion finally stopped whimpering, only to immediately frown.

"Wreck-It Ralph?" He spluttered. "What're… what're _you_ doing here?!"

"Saving your hiney?" Ralph said darkly. "That's a funny way to say thank you, ya little-"

"A bad guy? _Saving _someone? Hah!" The jester whooped with laughter. "Should villainy ever cease being profitable, I can see a future for you in comedy!"

Ralph grumbled, and dropped the two of them with an audible thud.

"Some _saviour _you are," The jester dusted himself off. "Look at all the damage you've done to the town! This'll take weeks to repair!"

"Weeks?" Calhoun frowned at him. "That's a little overdramatic. Just reset your game. That'll fix-"

"N-no!" The Jester spluttered. "I'm not sure what backwater cartridge _you _come from, but we at Sugar Rush have a little thing called High Scores. To reset the game is to destroy our legacy, _Sergeant_ Calhoun. Where is your sense of achievement?"

"You have your values and I have mine, Candy." Calhoun's lip tensed.

"That's _King_ Candy to you commoners!" The jester thrust an arm at her.

"Uh huh. Well maybe we can agree to disagree." Calhoun blanked him.

"Disagree? Hmph! That I'll agree with!" King Candy huffed. "What are we to do?!"

"Well… better start rebuilding I guess…" The green guy deadpanned.

"Oh nonsense Sour Bill," King Candy snorted. "You wouldn't know where to begin!"

"It's better than just complaining…" Sour Bill rolled his eyes.

Calhoun buried her face in her hand. "Look, I get the High Scores thing, really I do. But we can't just leave the game like this. Coin Duty's in just over an hour, and if you get found like this your entire _game_ could be deleted. So could you _please_ just reset and make it easier for all of us?"

"Impossible!" Candy swiped both arms outwards. "Do you know how long it would take to re-establish High Scores this lucrative? I'll take the entire game down with me before I lose those High Scores!"

Calhoun took in a deep breath, but channelled it all into a tensed fist and a sigh. "…fine. Anyone else got any ideas? Bear in mind we've got about an hour to do it."

Donald was still half asleep, and the best Sora could manage was a confused grunt. So who was going to use the communal brain cell, Calhoun wondered.

Ralph tapped a giant hand against his chin, while Goofy seemed on the cusp of an idea.

"Hmm…" he muttered. "Well, how about ya make it into a new racetrack? Would that work?"

King Candy's forehead creased. "Well it doesn't exactly fit in with our theme. Our game is all about candy! Where does the apocalypse fit into a candy go kart game?!"

"Maybe… a bonus level?" Ralph shrugged. "You can… use this here tower as a tunnel thing, and then the big pool of goop as like a feature, say it's peppermint or something. That's a candy right?"

"_Yes_, peppermint is a candy." King Candy couldn't even chuckle. "Maybe you should leave the ideas to someone who's not a bad guy, and knows something about candy?!"

"Hey heyyy, at least I'm havin' ideas!" Ralph fired right back. "'Sides, I live in a dump. I've never even had cake before. Gimme a break, huh?"

"That explains the smell," King Candy turned his nose up at Ralph, who just frowned back at him. "A bonus level is a _lovely _idea, but you'll have to do better than a scorchmark and a building, for caramel's sake! Where's the rest of the tra-"

The ground shook as Ralph punched into it. Reducing the chocolate soil to dust in moments, his enormous hands were practically a blur as they forged new ground, connecting the crater of goop to the fallen tower, which then looped around and went straight over the top of it. Ralph wove between a few felled trees, got stuck in half a dozen cotton candy bushes, and then traversed some hard gobstoppers to meet up with the start.

"There!" He dusted off his hands. "Little rough, but it'll do. You can work out a name later. Pretty good for a bad guy, huh?"

"I suppose it has… rustic charm." King Candy squinted at Ralph's creation. "…fine! It is acceptable. Sour Bill, please show our esteemed guests to a motel so they can rest while I go sign this bonus level into the city charter."

"…very well," Soul Bill drawled. "All of you, please follow me to the Sweet Dreams Motel. It's a short walk this way…"

Sora staggered back to his feet and offered a hand to help Donald up, but the duck still wasn't responding. He and Goofy shared a concerned look.

"I got it." Ralph obliged, picking Donald up by the foot and slapping him over his back like a wet towel. Donald simply hung limp from Ralph's shoulder as their little group followed after Sour Bill.

"Hey Wreck-It, remember we've got Coin Duty comin' up." Calhoun made the effort to remind him.

"Oh uhh, sure. Just lemme do this thing and I'll be with ya." Ralph gestured after the rest of the group.

"Sure, sure…" she shook her head fondly. "Hey Wreck-It, don't forget. Just because you're a bad guy in your game, that doesn't mean you're a bad guy in every game. You've done good today."

"I… I have, haven't I?" Ralph's eyes brightened. After carefully setting down a still woozy Donald, he bid the trio farewell before chasing after Calhoun. A smile touched at his lips, and he jumped into the air, tapping both heels together in mid jump.

"Call us if you need us, Sora." She nodded, before saluting the three of them and turning on her heel.

"Y-you got it," Sora said.

Sour Bill cleared his throat. "Please feel free to spend the night here, you three. King Candy is busy adding the new err, track, into the game's charter, and Coin Duty is fast approaching, so it would be best if the three of you were… here."

Sora merely nodded. "Th-thanks…"

With a shaky hand, he grabbed at the door handle, only for it to turn green and pixel out on him. Sora grimaced. He _still _didn't have this under control?

"Ugh…!" He groaned, massaging his forehead. "Stupid computer… thing!"

"Suspicious, is what it is…" Sour Bill narrowed his eyes. "Just be careful please…"

* * *

The three of them checked into their motel at last, across the city King Candy was immersed in a realm of darkness, swimming in mid air amongst a bunch of large purplish blocks.

"Peppermint lake… collapsed tower _bridge_…" he muttered to himself, tapping at a holographic keyboard. "Gobstopper obstacle field… new bonus level… alright, that should do it. The things I go through for this game…"

King Candy tapped out a name on his keyboard, and 'Cotton Candy Chaos!' was christened.

"What to replace it with…" Candy mused to himself. "Ahh, here we are. Sorry Candlehead. It's nothing personal. Though you _were_ getting close to breaking my High Score on Fudge Mountain…"

There was a glint in King Candy's eye as he tore at the wire connecting one of the blocks to the enormous, interweaving web. Sparks and bolts of lightning bled from the wires as it was torn before the block darkened out, floating emptily. With a shrug, King Candy discarded the darkened-out block, throwing it out into the distance where it bumped into two others. One had a name consisting mostly of mossy greenish blocks, while the other was named Vanellope.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Hey there people. Q****uite a lot happens in this chapter. I'd like to think I did a decent job with the actiony stuff, and hope it isn't too talky (though sometimes that's impossible to avoid). There's some foreshadowing and a wee mention of Vanellope, who'll of course be useful in upcoming chapters. As always, feel free to leave feedback if you have anything. Over and out. :3**

**Oh, and if someone can think up a better pun name for a post-apocalypse candy go kart track, please feel free to suggest. I just spitballed 'Cotton Candy Chaos' as a placeholder thing lol.**


	10. Chapter 10

It just wasn't happening. Despite the day's events exhausting him in both body and mind, the welcoming staff and the wonderfully soft bed, Sora just couldn't fall asleep, no matter what he tried. Covers on, covers off, on the side, on the front, on the back, facing the other way… nothing was working.

Of course, there were several things that weren't helping. Goofy's snoring could be heard from the next town, forget the next room, while this stupid glitch thing had him 'falling' out of the bed every half an hour or so. There was one time where he half dozed off and found himself in the adjacent cupboard, still wrapped up in the bedsheets. His patience had just about had it.

Oh, and there was the feeling that he was being watched. Constantly. From the moment the three of them had signed into this motel for the night, Sora couldn't shake off the feeling of someone analysing his every move. Maybe that King Candy guy didn't quite trust him. The feeling was mutual, he supposed, but it was still unnerving, nonetheless. No matter which way he turned, he could swear someone was breathing heavily in the corner, or staring at him from outside, or muttering his name in the distance, and when he finally found a position that promised comfort, the glitch thing would ruin it. It hadn't been this bad since he'd first 'discovered' it upon entering this world. Maybe there was something about this Sugar Rush game that was aggravating it. All the sugar, maybe?

After what must've been about fifty attempts, he was on the verge of giving up. Clammy, sore and frustrated, he was glancing vaguely upwards at the weird pattern on the ceiling. His senses prickled at the hint of heavy breathing in the corner once again, and by this point he must've gotten used to it or something because it just wasn't bothering him any more. Whatever was stalking him was just going to have to watch him stare at the ceiling for a few hours now.

That was until something rattled.

Once again snatched from the clutches of half sleep, Sora's tired eyes twitched when something shook, rolled, and fell from the nightstand to his left. His eyes lidded half open, only to find the blurry glow of something greenish staring right back at him.

"Ung?! What the-!" He gasped, bolting upright. The thing in the corner zapped away in a flash of green light, and Sora collapsed onto the floor, entangled in bedclothes. He flailed himself out of the mess of bedclothes and then threw on what he hoped was a shirt, ready to pursue whatever had just escaped from him.

Keyblade at the ready, he bounded down the carpeted corridors in his bare feet before _unlocking_ the front door – how did they go through it? – and readying his attacking stance outside. Keyblade drawn across his body, he stared vigilantly out into the… nothing.

Try as he might, he couldn't stop the heavy sigh of frustration from leaving him. He was sure he'd seen something. _Certain _something green and flashy was staring at him while he tried to sleep. Yet after chasing it, the only thing out here to greet him was the occasional chilly breeze.

His shoulders slumped. Conceding defeat, Sora turned and-

"Who are you?!" A voice hissed into his ear. Sora yelped and span around, but again there was no one there.

"I-isn't that my line?" The squeak betrayed him. "L-look, just… just come out from wherever you're hiding. We can t-t-talk about this, okay?"

It was the cold, he kept telling himself. Out on a cold night with barely anything on… what else could it be? Nosiree, he wasn't scared at all.

There was another flash of green, and a familiar face appeared in front of him. Wearing a jade hoodie, a skirt that looked like it was made of a giant cupcake wrapper, and a raven ponytail decorated with literal sprinkles, it suddenly made sense. Sora's keyblade disappeared. This kid wasn't a threat…

"You're… that girl from the racetrack…" Sora was hugging himself to stay warm now. "What do… what do you want with m-me?"

"Oh, nothin'," this girl was a bad liar. "I was just kinda curious, that's all. Y'see, I never met another one like me before!"

"L-like… you?" Sora frowned. Maybe his mind was starting to freeze from this cold, but nothing this kid was saying made any sense.

"Yeah!" She squeaked, her shrill voice carrying for miles in the desolate night. Some lights flickered on in a nearby house, and a cat mewled indignantly, but thankfully it didn't seem to wake anyone.

The girl chuckled to herself and lowered her voice. "I'll just… cut to the chase. I'm Vanellope, pleased to meetcha!"

She held out a hand, which Sora supposed he had to shake. That of course meant removing a layer of warmth from around his middle but hey, politeness dictates and all that. His shaking fingers intertwined with hers, and suddenly there was an impact from deep within him, as if he'd been hit by a bolt of lightning.

The cold serenity of Sugar Rush was quickly blotted out by a dark, greenish black landscape – if he could call it that – seemingly made of blocks and nothing else. From the buildings to the plants to… _him_, everything in sight was nothing more than rough pixels. Sora yelped again, and quickly let this Vanellope's hand go. With every hasty breath he could intake, a little more reality bled back into their surroundings, until it was as if nothing had happened.

"W-what… was that?!" Sora gasped, clutching at his quivering hands. Simple contact with this kid had messed up reality. Even if it was only for a few seconds, Sora had seen enough bad news like that to last a lifetime.

"I knew it, I knew it!" Vanellope hopped from one foot to the other, punching opposite fists into the air. "I knew you were like me! Isn't it great?!"

"N-no, it's not great! What could be great about that?!" Sora hissed at her.

"It means I'm not alone any more!" Vanellope exclaimed.

"Al… alone?" Sora mumbled. His heart just fell into his stomach. "Is-is that why those cops were trying to grab you yesterday? Because you're… different?"

Vanellope's manic energy had washed out, replaced with a meek smile. "They treat me like I'm some kinda… outcast. All 'cause I gl-gl-glitch sometimes."

As the words left her lips, mottled greenish blocks surrounded her body and her voice took on a metallic tone. An experience Sora was all too familiar with as of late.

"Well… I know why _I _glitch… I think," Sora knelt down to talk to her properly. "But why do _you_? Don't you live here?"

"Uh huh…" Vanellope sniffled. "Or at least I _think _so? My memory's been kinda fuzzy for a while, but I remember racin' around the track with all the other guys. King Candy made me stop, though… he said it was too dangerous for me to race because of my glitching. Apparently we could all get erased if Coin Duty saw me g…glitch…"

Vanellope glowed green again, and suddenly her body shot a couple of feet to the left, leaving Sora little option but to go chase after her.

"But… but you haven't been caught yet, right?" He pondered.

"I hide." Vanellope deadpanned. "E-even if they don't like me, I don't wanna see them all get erased. I-it's… too much of a risk."

Sora brought a hand to his chin and frowned. "I-I get where you're coming from. The last thing you wanna do is put everyone else in danger. Trust me, I've been there. But there's something about this whole thing that sounds kinda fishy. You definitely raced before? A-and no one got hurt then?"

"No, never!" Vanellope threw her arms out. "I-I mean sure, there was the occasional crash or somethin', but what can you expect in a racing game?"

"And that King Candy… he basically runs the place, right?" Sora muttered. "They said something about him adding the new track we uhh… made, into the town charter so that it doesn't mess up Coin Duty or something. Can't he just do that with you?"

"You'd think that wouldn't ya?" Vanellope shrugged. "But apparently it ain't that simple. No one'll talk to me and tell me _why _it isn't, but if it was I'd be racin' all the time!"

"Yeah, I don't blame you. I mean, what else can you do in a racing game?" Sora said.

"I mostly hide from the cops…" Vanellope looked away. "But hey, now that you're here I might not have to!"

"…huh?" Sora frowned. "You what now?"

"You can help me race again!"

"…how?"

"Well it's simple. King Candy doesn't want _me _racing, right? But he can't stop _you _from racing. Say you're doin' it under official business or something, and there's no _way _he can say no!"

"Huh." A smirk touched on Sora's lips. "I'll… have to swing it by Calhoun – she's my boss lady, sorta – but I might be able to make it work. There's just one problem with that though…"

"W-what's that?" Vanellope stammered. A surge of greenish blocks enveloped Sora, and he disappeared in another flash of light, reappearing a few feet away upside down. He unavoidably crashed onto his head, and the rest of him just curled over with gravity.

"…I glitch too." Sora moped, feet dangling helplessly above his head.

"Hmm…" Vanellope crouched down in front of him and grinned. "Well that's fine. Cause I can teach ya how to control it!"

Sora's lower half fell back to earth with a heavy dunt, and he straightened himself back up again. "You… you can?"

"Well I taught myself, didn't I?!" Vanellope cried. "Not here, though. They'll see us. Follow me!"

In another flash of green lightning, Vanellope shot over to the other edge of the clearing. She brought both hands towards herself, before disappearing again.

"Hey! Wait a second, I gotta put some clothes-!" Sora gasped, before he too glitched out of sight. There was a crash, followed by the sound of a table falling over or something, and Sora reappeared outside the motel again, fully dressed.

"…on." He got to finish his sentence at last. But after a quick self-study, it became painfully obvious. With a shrug he took to jogging after Vanellope, who of course was covering massive distances at once with her glitches.

It felt like he had been chasing her for miles, with the scenery changing smoothly from urban to rural, and from night to dawn. The sun was cresting over the horizon by the time Vanellope seemed satisfied, drawing Sora all the way out into what looked like a mountain range. The soft, dry chocolate soil collapsed under his feet, as if he were walking on freshly laid snow. This of course made it even harder to keep up with the kid, who had… disappeared entirely?

Sora scrabbled to a halt and spun around once, twice, three times looking for her. He'd gotten used to the customary flashes of green in the corner of his eye – it seemed to be all the patience this kid possessed – but now she'd really thrown a curveball, disappearing out of sight in the middle of a mountain range. Sora thanked his lucky stars for footprints, otherwise he could've easily gotten lost out-

His stomach dropped. Was that the kid's plan all along? Lure him out here so that he couldn't complete his work for Calhoun, and ultimately get caught out by that Coin Duty thing or starve to death?

Nah. Sora wrinkled his nose at the idea. The kid didn't even have a motive. Maybe he was just overthinking things. It was easy to do when you were alone with them.

"Psst!" Vanellope's voice hissed from somewhere. Sora span around to find a disembodied arm sticking out of the middle of one of the mountains, beckoning him towards it. "In here!" Vanellope's head burst from the depths, only to then disappear within what looked like solid mountain.

Sora simply frowned at it. It wasn't the weirdest thing he'd ever seen, but something told him this was just the tip of the crazy iceberg. He couldn't decide whether the two giant lollipops criss-crossing over the entrance made it more obvious or not. With a deep breath, Sora plunged an arm into the mountain and felt nothing but air. A barrage of green lights lit up the space between the lollipops, creating a checkerboard pattern which dissolved away as Sora passed through it, entering into what looked like an abandoned mining shaft.

"Ta daa!" Vanellope threw her arms out wide. "Pretty cool huh? They'll never find us in here! Not in a million years!"

"What _is _this place?" Sora glanced up and around. It looked ancient, and ready to collapse at any second.

"Well… I'm not sure exactly." Vanellope shrugged. "I think it was like some kinda bonus level that got dummied or something. But it's a great hiding spot, so now I live here!"

"Well that's for sure," Sora was still gazing at the splintery old railroad tracks above them and dreading the thought of them collapsing then subsequently covering up the entrance. "…hang on wait, you _live _here?"

"Well yeah, cause where else am I s'posed to when the whole town hates me?" Vanellope's gaze hardened. "They probably think I'll gl-gl-glitch and break somethin'."

"…huh. Well I... sorta know the feeling?" Sora shrugged. "So uhh…" He glanced about. Kicked a pebble across the floor. Found himself staring up at the rickety railroad again. "You said something about training? I kinda wanna get outta here before that falls down and crushes us."

"Oh, _that_?" Vanellope met his gaze and cackled. "It's not gonna fall down! Here, watch!"

She burst up from her makeshift bed and disappeared in a flash of green lightning. Dust rained down upon Sora as Vanellope appeared right above him, standing proud atop the tracks. Jumping up and down on the tracks, they held as sturdy as ever.

"Well c'mon, what're you waiting for?!" Vanellope cried from up above. "Get on up here!"

"How?" Sora yelled back. "I thought you were gonna train me?!"

"Think of it as learning on the job!" Vanellope brought her hands upwards towards herself. "Now, tell me what you feel. Some kinda feelin' deep in your stomach, right?"

"Uhh… nausea?" Sora grimaced up at her.

"Great, use it!" Vanellope exclaimed. "Bring that nausea out and vurp yourself up here!"

"Vurp…?" Sora frowned.

"Yeah, like a vomit and a burp at the same time! _Use_ that feeling in your belly! _Control_ it!"

The acidic feeling in his stomach churned. How was he supposed to _control _this?

With a grunt, he stared up at Vanellope above him on the dusty, rickety railroad tracks. She could do it, so why couldn't he? If they were one and the same, it should just come naturally… right?

Sora squinted, concentrated, and continued to stare up at the tracks. Was it just supposed to… happen? That's what happened when he wanted to summon his Keyblade or use a magic spell or something. The thought crossed his mind, and said Keyblade appeared in his hand.

Sora chewed his lip. So it was that easy. Just not that kinda power. He placed a hand to his temple and closed his eyes. He envisioned himself standing on top of the rails next to her, with her dumb kid smirk and annoying voice;

"Hey, what's takin' so long?"

Yeah, just like that. With a grin, Sora opened his eyes again, only for his smile to wither and fail immediately. He was still on the ground.

"Dammit!" His Keyblade hit the floor with a clatter. It looked like this wasn't going to be so easy after-

But then the world around him disappeared in a flash of green for all of a second, and next thing he knew he was holding it again.

"Heyyy!" Vanellope called from above.

Sora grunted at the Keyblade in his hand, and then glanced up at her. "Wh-what… happened?"

"You did it!" She cried. "I mean well, you sorta did it. You glitched like a metre or something and it was only when you threw your weird key thing but hey! Ain't I the best teacher?"

"When I… threw it?" Sora raised an eyebrow. The cogs began ticking in his mind. "So what if I…"

He weighed the Keyblade in his hand and judged for distance. He clumsily lobbed it about three or four feet away from him and closed his eyes. The strip of metal once again clattered across the rocky ground, and once again Sora appeared by it in a flash of green lightning holding onto it.

"Neat!" Vanellope shouted from above. "Not the way I expected, but you made it work. So what're you waitin' for? Get up here!"

Sora glanced skywards yet again. The same problem was still there, if he were honest. There was no way he was going to be able throw his Keyblade ten metres up in the air. He glanced around however, and noted that there were a few tongues of rock just sticking out of the mountain wall. A thought struck; maybe he could use those as platforms?

Worth a shot, he shrugged. Clambering on top of Vanellope's makeshift bed thing, he wobbled on the uneven surface and took careful aim.

"Hey! I hope those shoes are clean!" Vanellope jeered from the distance. Sora turned to confront her the moment his Keyblade left his hand, only for it to miss its mark and clatter to the ground.

"Ughhh…" he groaned, teleporting to where it landed. "Maybe don't distract me while I'm concentrating?"

"Yeah, cause the world's just gonna stop movin' while you concentrate!" Vanellope poked her tongue out at him. "Trust me, I'm helping!"

"Sure, sure," Sora trudged back to where he started. "But now I gotta jump all over your bed again."

"Wouldn't have it any other way, chump!"

Sora groaned again. What was with this kid? She sounded actively annoyed by the things he did, yet also encouraged them at the same time?

With a careful fling, his Keyblade landed on the platform with a jangle, followed by Sora himself moments later.

"C'mon Stinkbrain, you're takin' forever!"

"And I'll take longer if you keep yelling at me!"

"Like I said, the world ain't gonna wait for ya! You think the people stopped callin' me names while I was learning?"

Sora massaged his forehead. The kid had a point, he had to admit. If he had to learn how to do this, learning under ideal conditions would just work against him if he ever had to use it in a real situation. Despite everything, her teaching methods might actually be paying-

"Oww!" Sora yelped, as something heavy and green bounced from his head. "What was that for?!"

"Oh I'm sorry! You think bad guys are just gonna wait for you to make yer move?!" Vanellope cackled. She was back on ground level and holding another bright green rock. "Better get moving, else you'll be getting some me-Mentos!"

She threw the rock she was holding, which arced through the air and shattered into the wall behind him. Another one seared past his vision moments later, followed by a third thumping him in the side. A quick reaction had him deflecting one with his Keyblade, which ricocheted back towards Vanellope. Who dodged it effortlessly.

"Ha-hah, gonna have to do better than that!" She taunted, launching another handful of rocks. Sora shielded himself from two of them, while others thankfully missed. He needed to use his Keyblade to deflect any rocks, but also to teleport himself. This was an issue. He couldn't do both at once… could he?

With a grimace as another rock hit his shoulder, Sora lobbed his Keyblade outwards. It deflected a rock in mid-air, and then curved towards another platform in the distance. Vanellope zipped out of the way to dodge the deflected rock, but next thing she knew, Sora was clambering onto the next platform.

"Heyyy, nice!" She dropped the one she was holding. "You're gettin' the hang of this!"

"That's… a word for it!" Sora heaved, hauling himself over the edge of the platform.

"Take… this!" Vanellope launched another rock, which soared through the air, smashing into the ceiling and knocking another couple of rocks loose. Sora just frowned in confusion at it all, until the rocks fell into the lava beneath. Moments later a torrent of flame surged from the lava pool, roasting everything near it.

"Yow!" Sora stumbled, falling away from the plume of lava. Another one surged on his opposite side, and the heat surrounding him was damn near unbearable. He felt like he was in an oven, with the sweltering heat gushing out from either side of his little platform. He wiped his sweaty brow on his arm and concentrated for a moment. Even if the plumes of lava weren't there, he wasn't sure he could reach the next platform with a throw. If his Keyblade fell into the lava below, he was going to have to explain that to King Mickey, and he was pretty sure they didn't have insurance or a backup Keyblade or anything to compensate for him losing it.

Sora huffed and puffed. This heat was just too much. He could barely think straight, forget work out how to get to the next platform.

"Ung…" he grunted. "B-Blizzard!"

A flurry of ice billowed from the end of his Keyblade, coating the nearest plume and freezing it solid. Now a giant chunk of ice floated on top of the lava, gently sinking back down and releasing steam. But as soon as that one had melted down, had another one flared up courtesy of another rock thrown by Vanellope.

"You're gonna fry if you don't move soon!" She jeered, lobbing another rock into the lava. Yet another plume of lava exploded a few metres away, and again Sora found himself caked in sweat. Another Blizzaga spell had one of the plumes frozen, which again gently sank back down into the pool of lava. Sora wracked his brain. There was no way he was making that distance. But there was nothing in between them. How was he supposed to get there?

He froze another plume and watched it sink down. For ice platforms, they were suspiciously flat.

Sora's eyes widened. Could he use those, maybe? Risky was an understatement, but it cut the distance between the platform he was on and the railroad tracks he had arbitrarily been told to get to. If he timed it well, it just might work…

Another plume of lava surged upwards. Now was his chance. Bracing himself, he started off with the Blizzard spell to freeze the plume, followed immediately by his Keyblade clanging towards it. Sora teleported onto the frozen plume and struggled to keep his balance. Meanwhile the plume had started to sink into the lava, loosing steam all the while.

"Uh oh…" Sora muttered. This wasn't part of the plan. With every passing second the giant icicle he was trying to stand on was slipping farther and farther away from the tracks. He had to act quickly and accurately. Between the slippery floor, the time pressure, the slowly increasing heat and the ever-moving target, he just had to brace himself and hope. With a swallow, he flung the Keyblade skywards. It arced through the air and pinged off of the edge of the tracks, before curving on the momentum and rattling across the planks. Suddenly the heat disappeared, and Sora found himself standing on top of the tracks, Keyblade in hand.

"Hey, you made it!" Vanellope cried, dancing about on the cave floor. "Took you long enough, but you got there in the end. Alright, next challenge. Catch me!"

"You gotta be kidding me…" Sora gasped. He'd only just got up here, risked his life who knows how many times, and now he had to go chase after her?

Vanellope disappeared in a flash of green lightning, and Sora guessed it was decided. He threw his Keyblade to the ground below, where it pierced the rock floor and held prone. Moments later he reappeared, pulling it from the ground and running after the elusive green flash.

* * *

_A few hours later…_

"Soraaaa…!" Donald shrieked into the morning skies.

"Where'd ya go, Sora?!" Goofy echoed Donald. "Oh gee, it ain't like him ta miss breakfast. Where'd'ya think he's gone, Donald?"

"How should I know?" Donald hissed back. "Just keep shouting, okay?!"

Donald took in a breath to ready another shout, however something glinting in the distance caught his eye.

"Incoming!" He gasped, and the pair of them took a fighting stance. Whatever the glinting object was, it sparkled through the skies, ready to land just a few feet away. A green flash caught up with it, and out of nowhere Sora appeared, catching the Keyblade before it could hit the ground.

"Morning guys!" Sora's eyes were sparkling. "Ya miss me?!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Hey there guys. Another update. I swear these chapters keep getting longer lol.**

**I figured Vanellope needed some sort of screen time in this, seeing as Sora is currently visiting her world and everything. Sora's current status as a 'virus' in the Game Central World, combined with his position as a Keyblade Wielder, essentially becomes what's Noctis' teleporting ability thing from FFXV (or the shotlock teleporting thing from KH3, take your pick)**

**Vanellope's tough love teaching was just an excuse to show more of her personality.**

**All in all it's a bit wordy, but the plot's set in stone now, and the training montage is out of the way. Coming up next; Sora tries to convince Calhoun to let him race, and King Candy gets his comeuppance. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading. :3**


	11. Chapter 11

"Absolutely not."

Sora's shoulders slumped. "Huh. Guess that's not a surprise."

"What're you crazy, Sora?" Calhoun folded her arms and glared at him. "I explicitly told you to stay away from anything related to racing not twenty-four hours ago, and you still had the _gall_ to ask me? Ballsy, I'll admit."

"I-I know but…" he stammered. "Just… just hear me out okay? I've got a good reason for asking."

"Oh this'll be rich," Calhoun scoffed. "What _possible_ reason would you have to break ranks and tootle around on a little go kart instead of killing Cy-Bugs like I told you to?"

"Well uhh," Sora scratched his head. His confidence had left him already. "I… talked to that green kid last night."

Calhoun's nostrils flared.

"A-and she's a good kid! She taught me how to control that glitching thing. Watch!"

Sora summoned his keyblade and threw it to his left, teleporting after it and catching it mid-throw.

"And that's kinda suspicious, right? I know I'm not supposed to be here. But doesn't she _live _here? A-and she's got the same glitchy thing as me."

Calhoun squinted. "That is a _little_ suspect."

"Uh huh," Sora nodded. "And what's weirder, she says she distinctly remembers racing, yet that King Candy guy won't let her near the racetrack. What's he afraid of?"

Calhoun's folded arms loosened. Just a little bit.

"If she's supposed to be here, he shouldn't have a problem with her racing, because that's the point of this game, right? But here's the fun part ma'am."

Calhoun's eyes flashed. "…the fun part?"

"Y-you know how I can lure in Cy-Bugs?"

"All too well…"

"Uh huh. W-well yeah, what if we combined those things? I go in as a 'guest' racer or something and draw in all the Cy-Bugs, which you guys can pick off and-"

"You don't need to race to do that."

"But I wanna race!"

"Too bad, Sora. I want the Cy-Bug leader's head mounted on my wall, but life just doesn't work that way."

"Wait!" Sora forestalled her retreating figure. "What if we use this racing thing to rattle King Candy's cage. Find out what he's _really _up to?"

Calhoun clapped a hand against her forehead. "…you really think Candy's up to something?"

"Definitely."

"_Really _really?"

"_Really_ really really."

"Not just an excuse to sit in a little go kart?"

"I-I promise."

"And you have a go kart to race in?"

"…no."

"Well there's an obvious issue," Calhoun said. "But we can figure that out another time. Guess we should go talk to King Candy, see what his angle is."

* * *

"Absolutely not."

Sora's shoulders sank again. The people of this world were really against him going kart racing.

"You think I'll allow that… that _virus_ to corrupt our game by racing?" King Candy spat. He folded his arms and stared down his nose at their little group from the safety of his shiny golden throne. "Do you _know _the damage he could do?!"

"And how do you know he will?" Calhoun raised a good point. "We get all sorts in Tapper's and nothin' goes wrong there. Where's your source?"

"Decades of knowledge of this game's inner workings!"

"Decades?" Calhoun frowned. "Alright, wanna explain how he's been to several other games and _none _of those have had any trouble?

"That you know of!" King Candy huffed. "For all you know those games could be corrupted beyond saving!"

"If that was happening one of my guys would be beeping me." Calhoun pulled a walkie talkie from the holster on her hip. "Look how many alerts I'm not getting."

King Candy let out some sort of disgusted noise.

"So, I'm inclined to believe that you've got something to hide, Candy." Calhoun leaned in closer. "Maybe I could call my boys instead and have 'em _sniff it out._"

The little man visibly creased at the mention. "F…fine!" He sputtered. "The virus can race! But _don't _think I'll take it easy on you _boy."_

"W-wouldn't expect it!" Sora couldn't hide the grin.

His only issue now was finding something to race in. He wasn't just going to find one of those lying around, was he?

"Any idea where we can find a race car?" He asked Donald and Goofy. It couldn't hurt, could it?

"Nnnope! 'Fraid not, Sora!" Goofy actually patted down his pockets. "Why don'cha ask that girl? Ain't she a racer?"

"Hey, yeah! Good idea Goof!" Sora cried. He wasn't sure why he had to be reminded of that by someone who had never even met her, but it was still a solid idea. Sora gave his apologies to Calhoun, who was surprisingly forgiving about his situation, and found his way back out to the mountain range where Vanellope seemed to live.

"Vanellope? You here?" He poked his head in through the fake wall thing.

"Hello!" She swung out of nowhere, hanging from the platform above by her feet. "Oh, hey there Stinkbrain!" You back for more?"

"Nnnno, I'm actually wondering if you know where I can get a kart?" Sora asked with a shrug. "I mean… you've got one right?"

"Yup! Had it forever!" Vanellope grinned. "Your clown shoes won't fit in it though, so you're gonna have to get your own."

"That's no surprise…" Sora groaned. "You… know where I can?"

"Pff, are you kiddin'?" Vanellope snorted. "Of course I do! I know everything about this game!"

"Could you show me?"

"Yes I can!"

"…will you?"

"Depends. What do I get out of it?"

"The chance of clearing your name and overthrowing King Candy? Y'know, like we discussed earlier?"

Earlier… Sora yawned in realisation. It felt like eons ago that Vanellope had last brought him here, but it was actually only a few hours? Time was a weird thing.

His thoughts were interrupted by Vanellope cackling. "O-oh yeah! Well c'mon then! Try and keep up!"

"You're kidding me!" Sora gasped after her. "You know where you're going! I don't!"

Vanellope literally leapt from her rail and zapped through the fake wall. Sora supposed he had to follow. Once again the flashes of green lightning out of the corner of his eye was all he could register as the pair of them zipped across the scenery. Vanellope threw a curveball by suddenly shooting left after several bouts of just heading straight, zipping across an enormous stone bridge towards what looked like a factory of sorts.

Vanellope zipped straight through a heavy wooden door, leaving Sora little option but to screech to a halt in front of it.

"H-hey, what gives?" He hissed to her. "It's locked!"

"Well ya know what they say, old chump!" Her voice called from above. Sora glanced upwards to see her sliding a window open. "When life closes a door, she opens a window! Get up here!"

"Ugh, again?" Sora rolled his eyes. The window was a good twenty feet off the ground, which made absolutely no sense. Sora swung his keyblade upwards, volleying himself onto a platform that seemed to be jutting out for specifically this exact reason. Another carefully aimed throw had him leaping onto the top of wall that was opposite the window Vanellope was hanging out of.

"Wrong way, dumb dumb!" She cackled. "I'm over here, remember?"

"Hey c'mon, I'm still figuring this out!" Sora shot right back. The alleyway between them was a good ten feet wide. Sora limbered up his throwing arm. His target was both relatively small and far away, so this was going to be a tough one. He stretched his arms and then twisted both left and right, then took in a deep breath.

And then he swore loudly when his Keyblade veered off course the moment it left his hand. Instead of arcing cleanly into the window like he'd planned, it struck the slate wall about a foot to the left, burying itself between two of them. In a flash of green lightning, Sora found himself hanging from the Keyblade's handle with his face in his free hand.

"…well now what?" He groaned. The Keyblade was holding prone, despite his full weight hanging off of it. He could even jiggle up and down and the thing wouldn't move.

"How's your balance?" Vanellope was resting her head on her arms on the windowsill. "Think ya can stand on it?"

"Err…" Sora gulped. That wasn't something he wanted to consider. Even if he could pull himself up and stand on it, one slip and he'd be victim to the gravity below. "Probably not, no."

He looked up, looked down, looked to the wall he was hanging from, and grimaced. Not the worst of situations he'd ever been stuck in, he supposed.

"What if I…" he mumbled. "Blizzard!"

The Keyblade lit up, releasing a flurry of ice into the wall. The wall didn't shatter, instead forcing ice out from the wall and taking Sora with it.

"This is so dangerous. _So _dangerous!" He shivered at the end of the Keyblade, which was still jammed within the slowly growing prong of ice. Leaning inwards, he had it curving at an angle away from the wall and towards the window.

Sora adjusted his grip, hanging from the Keyblade with both arms parallel to the window. The Keyblade was cold to the touch but wasn't freezing his hands to it. Maybe this could work…

Sora steeled himself and swung forwards on the Keyblade. It creaked a little but still held his weight. It probably wasn't going to for long though, so the pressure was on.

"One, two…" he muttered, counting himself up. On the third count he let go of his Keyblade and swung into the open window, faceplanting the floor inside and _not_ splattering onto the ground outside, it counted as a victory he supposed. "M-made it…" he gave a shaky thumbs up.

"Well quit slouching, we gotta get you a kart already!" Vanellope held exactly no sympathy for him. She was already at the end of the room they were in, stamping her feet by the open door. Sora groaned. Rubbing his sore nose, he pulled himself back to his feet, wrenched his Keyblade out of the icicle. and chased after her down two flights of stairs into the actual factory floor. Shiny glass tubes were full of sparkling ingredients that fed into giant metallic machines and rolled out onto conveyor belts, where other machines would periodically stab at the products with various additions.

"This is where all the karts are made," Vanellope span around. "Now, I presume you know how to use a simple machine?"

"Uhh…" Sora stared at one of the machines. There were way too many buttons on it, and every menacing whirr that came out of it told him that _maybe _he shouldn't mess with these things.

"I'm gonna take that as a no!" Vanllope's smile remained. "Look, it's easy! You just push buttons like this, and a kart comes out!"

With no apparent pattern or reason, she hammered at various buttons on the first machine. The contents of the shiny glass tubes began to whirl, with blasts of colour exploding out of their respective machines. Clouds of colour culminated on the conveyor belt in the middle and then next thing Sora knew, a sparkly candy kart had burst out of the madness.

"Ta daah!" She celebrated. "See? It's easy! Now you do it!"

"Can't I just… use that one?" Sora pointed to it. It was a bit glittery and pink, and he wasn't sure he was going to fit in the driver's seat, but a kart was a kart, right?

"No, dummy! I already told you! Your clown shoes won't fit in a kart made for me! Besides, don't you wanna make your own?!"

"Err…" Sora gulped. His quivering hand reached for the nearest button, but the moment he'd made contact the first of the giant glass tubes shattered, scattering pink stars everywhere.

"Heyyy, I thought you got that glitch under control!" Vanellope called.

"I… don't think that was the glitch! I-I'm just kinda bad with machines!" Sora grimaced.

"No kidding!" Vanellope shot back instantly. "Try again! Maybe it won't fail this time!"

Sora grit his teeth and pushed another button. Another glass tube thing exploded, this one scattering bright blue rings, which of course pinged into other glass tubes and smashed them open too. Before Sora could do anything to stop it, the entire rainbow of candy go-kart parts was spilling across the floor. But despite it all, the conveyor belt was still moving. Sora just stared in disbelief as a nauseatingly colourful kart spilled out of the messy rainbow. It looked like the aftermath of a tornado running through a hardware store, but it was a kart. That was the important thing.

"Hoho, wow, you got a good one!" Vanellope cried. "Just look at all these details! Sugar glass for your windscreen! Oreo tyres! Rapid fire sprinkle rifle! Jellybean finish!"

"Those are… good?" Sora frowned. "A-alright, I'll take your word for it. Wanna give us a hand getting it over to the race track?"

"Unnn…" Vanellope was suddenly shy. "W-what if the other racers see me?"

"It'll be fine, don't worry!" Sora cried. "Tell you what, you help me half way. You can go hide or whatever after that. Deal?"

Vanellope wrung her wrists. "…alright, deal. But once we see the race track I'm going!"

"Works for me." Sora said, and the pair got to work wheeling his mess of a car out of the factory. Across the long bridge the car was pushed, and then down the long sloping path towards the town, where the rest of the guys were conveniently waiting.

"Huh. So you actually got yourself a kart." Calhoun said. "Not bad, Sora. I… presume you know how to drive it?"

"Uhh…" Sora's face fell immediately. "Yes?"

"Well isn't that encouraging." Calhoun deadpanned. "So you wheeled this all the way here by yourself?"

"Hunh?" Sora grunted. "N-no, Vanellope helped m-hey, where'd she go?"

He glanced over his shoulder to where Vanellope was just moments ago, but the kid was nowhere to be found.

"She was just here a second ago…"

"Are you _sure _you're not just making her up?" Donald snickered.

"Aw, why would he do that, Donald?" Goofy was the voice of reason. "And where'd he get a kart from if she wasn't there to help? They ain't just lyin' around."

"Goof's logic stands to reason," Calhoun nodded. "Odds are the kid doesn't like being near the town because everyone seems to hate her. Sound about right?"

"Uh huh. She said pretty much exactly that." Sora said. "A-anyway, I'm in time for the race, right?"

"Just about," Calhoun gave a thumbs up. "Candy's been waiting on you but I'll give him his dues, he's sticking to his word."

Goofy was more than happy to help Sora wheel the new kart towards the track in Vanellope's place, setting it down behind nine other cars. Several colourful looking racers were already giving Sora nasty looks, meanwhile King Candy was staring at his pocket-watch with a face like a gargoyle.

"You're late, _Virus!" _He spat. "The nerve of it all! I bend the rules to allow you to race in the first place, and you keep us all waiting!"

"Sorry! I got here as quick as I could!" Sora cried. "I went through so much to get a kart, and then wheel it all the way over here, a-and a bunch of stuff!"

"Pfft! You call that a kart?!" Candy hissed. "That, my glitchy friend, is a hodgepodge. What is your theme? Garage sale?!"

"A-as long as it races, right…?" Sora shrunk away from him.

"Hmph! Good luck getting _that _thing off the starting line." Candy scoffed. Almost cheesily on cue, a loud klaxon sounded out of nowhere, and a whole bunch of red lights lit up on the arches above them.

"Hah! May the best man win, _Virus_." Candy tittered, climbing into his own personalised kart in pole position. The ten or so other racers practically mirrored him, a couple of them managing a snicker at Sora's expense before disappearing into their own karts, and Sora supposed he should do the same. Getting behind the wheel and adjusting a few things here and there, he muttered. "I see you, Candy."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Hey there dudes. Bit of a filler chapter I guess, but I figured it might've worked a bit better for Sora to put his own kart together rather than just having things work out for him.**

**Next up, we've got a race (which I hopefully won't ruin), and King Candy gets thwarted. All is not over, though. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading :)**


	12. Chapter 12

Sora could already feel his heartbeat starting to thud. Simply sitting in the driver's seat behind the chugging engine of a powerful race car had it throbbing like a bass drum. Could he do this? Could he actually compete with these seasoned racers?

He'd raced on those bike things in Tron's world, sure, but that was on a bike for starters, and in a huge expanse with no other people. This was in a car and on a track, which meant boundaries, and a good ten or so rivals he had to not crash into.

"Remember Sora, you don't have to win," Calhoun called out to him. "Your plan is just to lure in the last few Cy-Bugs so your buddies and I can eliminate them. Just focus on getting to the finish line, got it? That should work for all of us."

"Y-y-you got it," Sora stammered. His hands were slipping from the pretzel steering wheel, they were sweating so much. He wasn't even sure why the steering wheel was a pretzel. Wasn't this a candy world?

Either way, that wasn't important. A flurry of bright red lights flared up above him like an ominous Christmas tree. The red lights slowly multiplied until an entire barrage of them illuminated the track. That round green guy held a flag above the starting line and suddenly everything turned green as Sora was left behind.

"Oh, c'mon…!" He groaned, hammering his foot down on what he hoped was the right pedal. His car belched out a mass of black smoke, followed by the pained shrieking of the tyres, but the thing hurtled forward. It bumped over the edge of the first corner with no issue, but the next one came way too quickly and had sparks flying as the car screeched against the barrier.

Sora blinked viciously for a few seconds, momentarily blind in his left eye because of the sparks. His car wheedled off around the second corner before Sora could set it back on line with a clumsy fiddle of the wheel. He really wished he'd had some time to practice driving before getting dropped in the deep end. It wasn't exactly his fault, but at this rate the other guys were just going to pass him again.

The crowds were roaring with boos and jeers. Despite his best efforts, A searing heat percolated from somewhere in his depths. He grit his teeth and floored the accelerator. Another horrid screeching escaped from his back tyres before the machine lurched forward, careering around another loose corner and scattering pebbles in the meantime. Suddenly a clear glass cube shattered in front of him and a bright roulette wheel lit up on the car's dashboard. Sora's eyes were darting between the road ahead and the spinning symbols on his dashboard until it eventually stopped at a…

"Liquorice stick?" He frowned, skittering out of the way of an enormous jawbreaker as it tore down the straight. "W-what does…"

There was a button next to the screen on the dashboard. That was obviously the one to fire or activate it or whatever. His finger hovered over the button for a couple of seconds, however a notable lack of targets had him withdraw before long. It would've been much more convenient if it were on the steering wheel, he had to admit, though he supposed he wouldn't be able to accidentally fire it in this position. Some awkward brake work had his car choking around a tight corner, only for the ground ahead of him to burst open and a Cy-Bug to soar out of it, heading directly for him.

"Uh oh…!" Sora instinctively reached for his walkie talkie, but the moment his hand left the wheel another corner came out of nowhere and forced him to concentrate on that instead. How was he supposed to alert Calhoun or anyone to the presence of Cy-Bugs if he couldn't reach his walkie talkie to-

The Cy-Bug was suddenly illuminated in a ball of flame, exploding into puddles of goop. Another crashed through some sort of tower but was quickly taken out by gunfire.

Sora's thudding heart slowed just a little. It looked like he could rely on them after all. His car drifted across what must have been a hot chocolate mix or something, which stuck to his wheels like mud and brought him to a crawl. Again he found himself flooring the accelerator and achieving nothing. What was he supposed to do now? Just crawl forwards until the mud ran out?

The bridge was inching closer as he simply revved his way forwards. Once again his hand crept over to the button on the dashboard. Now was as good an opportunity as ever to find out what the liquorice sticks did. He hammered down on the button and two enormous masses of liquorice burst from the front of the car, firing off into the distance.

Sora's face fell. "Well that was useful."

Finally his car pulled itself out of the mud, rattling over the bumps and tearing his back to shreds. He smashed into another one of those prize block things just in time to pass one of the other racers, who seemed to have their car stuck in a dark, sludgy mass. His heart lurched at the sight, but the sympathy dissolved away pretty quickly when he saw the vile look the kid gave him. They even stopped struggling just to give him the coldest, iciest stare he'd ever experienced. Sora couldn't help but stare right back, barely paying attention to the road ahead of him or the rectangular something that had appeared on his dashboard display. Squeaking around a corner, he had to squint at the tiny image on the screen.

"…a packet of chips?" He frowned. That definitely wasn't candy. It must have been something that came in a packet, like maybe pop rocks or something. But just what was this going to do?

Maybe he could plant them somewhere and they'd explode like mines. Assuming they even were pop rocks, that was. They could've been anything on such a damn tiny screen.

Sora prodded it with his finger, then groaned when the thing didn't zoom in. That was the best clue he was going to get, he supposed.

Another Cy-Bug burst through one of the stands, scattering spectators everywhere. Before it could lock its gaze on Sora though, Goofy's shield swung through the air towards it, knocking it out of the skies. Sora returned his attention to the track just as a bright light flashed behind him, followed by the telltale spurt of an exploding Cy-Bug.

Without warning, Sora's entire world was thrown sideways when a flaming something or other soared right past him, knocking his cart to the side as if it were made of cardboard. Screeching past him was the racer he'd overtaken earlier, encased in a bright red blaze.

"Dammit…!" Sora grumbled, kicking his engine back to life. The poor thing spluttered a couple times but eventually chugged forwards again, picking up speed on the gentle curve around the 'peppermint lake', as the obvious sign stated. It looked like King Candy couldn't even convince himself of this, Sora thought with a chuckle. Dodging out of the way of another thrown jawbreaker, his mind wandered over to the power up on his dashboard. He still couldn't figure out even what it was, forget what it did. There was every chance it could make things worse for him, and he was supposed to be running consistently so he could draw out Cy-Bugs and have everyone else pick them off for him. Every scrap of sense he possessed told him that it was a bad idea to just randomly try these things out.

But then there was the little niggle, the evil curiosity in the back of his skull that wondered what it did. It was almost like there was a little fairy on either shoulder, arguing over what he should do next.

His cart reached the end of the peppermint loop, entering what looked like a mostly straight road but with a few giant gobstoppers rising out of the ground either side and making for a slalom of sorts.

So basically a straight line, Sora smirked to himself. Whatever the candy packet did, surely it wouldn't go _too _badly on a straight line, would it?

Sora gulped, and hammered down on the little button. Something exploded out of the back of the cart, and next thing he knew, his stomach was left behind as the machine rocketed forwards at a blistering speed. The steering wheel was vibrating so violently that he could barely keep a hold of it, meanwhile his eyes felt like they were melting into his skull and the rest of him was compressed into the driver's seat. Three or four more, smaller explosions popped out of the exhaust as the cart arced across the long straight. The front wheels squeaked onto one of the giant gobstoppers and suddenly the cart was airborne, tearing through the very skies above. Sora was little more than a condensed ball of nerves in the space between the roof and headrest, holding onto the steering wheel for dear life.

Sweat was cascading from his brow as the cart began to descend, cresting the top of another gobstopper and skittering down its glossy surface. Gravity shifted and Sora crashed forward again, all but toppling from his seat. The cart crashed back to flat ground and sideswiped another racer before careering around the next corner.

Sora rubbed at a bruise on his forehead. "Alright… now I know what that one does."

He groaned when his cart smashed into another one of those prize cube things and the dreaded roulette wheel started spinning again. A Cy-Bug burst up a few metres away and lunged for him, but a timely spray of bullets from Calhoun stopped it from becoming a problem. Sora couldn't help but chuckle – was his plan actually working?

Getting to drive the thing in the first place was enough of a surprise. Everyone was so against it at first. But now he was an actual race car driver, on an actual track, and he was even helping to draw out the last of the Cy-Bugs with it. Double the usefulness.

His roulette wheel stopped, showing him a picture of another gobstopper. Weaving the cart between two cotton candy bushes, he took careful aim. For once he actually knew what the button did. Swerving around another mass of cotton candy, he launched a gobstopper out of the rear of his cart, which grew slowly larger as it snowballed and wedged itself between two cotton candy clouds. With a grin, Sora allowed himself a quick fist pump before having to violently swerve out of the way as an enormous marshmallow was catapulted out of nowhere, missing him by inches. The marshmallow then exploded once it hit the track, spitting out smaller blobs of marshmallow in multiple directions which Sora had to also try and dodge. His back-left tyre caught on one and the cart span out, right into a candy bush.

"…good aim." Sora's eyes were glassed over as he once again floored the accelerator but got nothing in return, but managed a smirk when one of the other racers cracked into the gobstopper he'd placed earlier. It went nowhere. Sora wheedled his tyres left and right, left and right, slowly pulling himself out of the candy cloud and then forwards once again. The next section of the track seemed to feature fallen candy cane trees, most of which the cart could easily just hop over. Some were thick enough that he'd have to actually go around them, but for the most part it wasn't an issue. That was, until the trees started actively falling towards him. With a screech of the tyres and a yelp of panic, Sora wove his way between several falling candy canes that seemed determined to fall on him and only him, not any of the other racers in the region. A selection of fallen trees were acting as bridges to the next section, each spreading out in different directions. Sora just shrugged and went for the middle one. It was the widest after all, so it would be the easiest one.

It also had a different pattern to the others, Sora noticed. While the two on the outside were a definite alternating pattern, this one seemed to have double the red str-

His stomach lurched. Suddenly the pattern wasn't so interesting any more. The entire bridge had just disappeared beneath him, leaving his cart falling helplessly down the gap in the track. His stomach had migrated to his throat as the cart continued to plunge. It disappeared into greenery and entered some murky cave, still on a sharp downward slope yet _still _with prize cubes. Sora wrestled what little control he could out of the cart, narrowly dodging random stalagmites in the vague hope of making it to the patch of light at the other end. The cart ricocheted off what must have been a sheet of ice or something and then careered down a slippery narrow pathway where the cart was literally turned upside down for all of a moment. Suddenly blinding light flooded the area, and once again Sora was screaming through the open air. Blinking desperately, he could just about register the presence of flat ground ahead of him, where the cart swerved back onto the long straight and onto lap two.

He caught a glimpse of the Sour Bill guy holding up placards stating that he had _four _more of these. Four.

"Ugh…" Sora rubbed his eyes. He was exhausted after one. Forget all the fighting and the darkness and stuff. Another Cy-Bug burst out of nowhere but was quickly taken down by what looked like an explosion or something. Sora continued to twist and turn his way through the candy hellscape, but he still hadn't seen hide nor hair of King Candy. Sure, he'd been at the back of the pack for the entirety of the race so far, but surely he would've _seen _the man?

Of course there was every chance that Candy just didn't play fair. Sora knew it wasn't his job to win, it was just to draw out the Cy-Bugs and maybe push Candy's buttons. But that man was hiding something, and he was going to find out what.

Slamming his hand down on the button, Sora's cart was suddenly riding on a bright, glittering rainbow, coursing right through any obstacles on the track. While Candy still remained comfortably ahead, Sora was able to draw out more Cy-Bugs with his mere presence, and Calhoun and the guys would quickly mobilise to take them down. As long as they didn't all come out at once, it was a solid system as far as he was concerned.

With a little bit of luck and a lot of anger and cursing, Sora was slowly able to chip away at the other racers' leads over five laps. Dodging blobs of liquorice as he went and occasionally getting knocked off course by disgruntled racers, weaving his way around cotton candy and crashing over fallen candy cane trees, luring Cy-Bugs to their doom all the while, he worked his way through the five laps of chaos. As he progressed however, his luck only seemed to get worse, with increasing amounts of obstructions getting thrown at him the closer he got to the finish line. Even the Cy-Bugs seemed to be getting more aggressive with every lap finished, launching out of various crevices and cracks almost every corner now. They were so many in number that Sora had to dodge them as well as the various obstacles being thrown at him this time. At some points it felt like his car was going farther sideways that forwards for the volume of stuff he had to dodge, what with the lovely King taking it upon himself to lead the barrage. Goofy and the others could just about keep the Cy-Bugs at bay, but King Candy's onslaught only got fiercer with every inch Sora could creep.

"Give it up, _Virus!_" He spat, belching a tongue of flame from the exhaust of his own cart. "You've already lost, so what's the point?!"

Sora growled behind his dashboard. Why was Candy trying to stop him _finishing_ the race? He hadn't tried to stop anyone else, and he'd passed the finish line ages ago, so why only him? What was this guy's problem?

There must have been a reason for it. Sora just needed to get there so he could unearth whatever it was. There was an image of gummy bears on his dashboard. He wasn't sure what gummy bears could do, but it was surely better than just screeching tyres and endless dodging. Even if it just repelled Candy's obstacles for a few seconds, that would buy him enough time to cross the finish line and complete the mission for Calhoun.

Sora hit the button and once again found his stomach leaving him behind when the cart _bounced_ from the track, propelling itself forwards. Rage surged across Candy's face as the cart cleared the finish line at _last_. A bright light started emanating from literally everything, and the crash to the ground Sora had been expecting for the last few seconds still hadn't come. He looked around his cart to see that the race track, the other racers, the surroundings _themselves_… had entirely disappeared. Aside from the occasional flickering light, all that remained was an empty darkness in every direction.

"Oh bravo, Virus." Candy's voice rang out from somewhere, followed by a slow clap. "Congratulations, you've reset the game. A _fantastic_ achievement, wouldn't you say?"

A hand smashed into the window on Sora's right and literally dragged him through it. "Now you've got _me _to answer to!"

"Who're you?!" Sora yelped, for the hand around his neck didn't belong to King Candy, but the voice did. This man had a red and white aesthetic rather than King Candy's purple and gold mess, and glowing green eyes amidst a skeletal, gaunt face.

"I am _Turbo_, and you've unlocked me, Virus!" The King Candy imposter seethed. "And now it's time for the _Bonus Level!"_

With a high-pitched, maniacal cackle, Turbo threw Sora by the arm across the endless void, where he crashed into the floor with a crack. Before Sora could so much as react, Turbo was already upon him again, simply grabbing a limb and swinging.

His body was smacked into the ground yet again, while Turbo gave him no chance to recover, simply launching him across the ground at a blistering pace. There was another dull crack when Sora was thrown across the floor. His left arm exploded with pins and needles while the urge to throw up surged in his throat. By the time he had clutched at the ground Turbo had once again caught up with him, readying another attack. This time there was a flurry of bullets however, and the man fell away from Sora in shock.

"Y-you!" He gasped. "Why are _you _here?!"

"Isn't it obvious, Candy?" Calhoun lit up a flare. "You don't belong in Sugar Rush. None of us do. So here we are."

"What was that you were saying about a Bonus Level?" Donald whacked his staff into his opposite wing.

"Ain't'cha gonna let us join in?" Goofy readied his shield. "'Cause it's way more fun with more players!"

Turbo's face creased. With a grunt of irritation, he raised two fists. "V-very well then! I'll delete you _all!"_

"Hey, wait a second!" Yet another voice entered the situation. With a flash of green lightning, Vanellope appeared out of nowhere. "You all starting the fun without me?!"

"_You_!" Turbo seethed. "I was _this _close to taking over, _this _close to ruling with an iron fist! But like our virus friend here, you just keep popping up, _refusing _to simply disappear! Prepare yourself, Glitch!"

"Uh oh!" Vanellope gasped, teleporting out of the way from a burst of energy launched by Turbo. Donald attempted a Blizzard spell in response, but it was dodged effortlessly, where Turbo appeared behind him in a flash and launched the duck into the air. Donald fell back to earth with a thud and Turbo knocked Goofy's shield away from him with a speedy swipe. Goofy received a lightning fast punch to the gut as punishment and was then knocked out of Turbo's way. Another spray of bullets from Calhoun's rifle stopped Turbo in his tracks, but with a grin the racer shot a blast of energy towards her. A commando roll backwards couldn't save her though, and the blue energy took hold, surrounding her entirely.

"W-what the?!" Her voice turned more robotic and jittery. Blue blotches of code rippled through the void of energy, but the immobilised Calhoun was powerless to do anything about it.

"Hang on Sarge!" Sora cried, lunging towards her with his Keyblade.

"Trouble me no more!" Turbo cackled, crushing a fist. With a yelp of surprise, Calhoun's body within the bubble was quickly disintegrated into nothingness, vanishing into the endless dark.

"Wha?!" Sora yelped, swiping at nothing with his Keyblade. "Wh-where'd she go?!"

"I warned you, Virus!" Turbo threatened. "I _said _I would delete you, but you didn't listen! And now you can pay the price! I will delete _all _of you if I have to, and I will create a _new _Sugar Rush from scratch! I _will_ be King Candy, and there's nothing you can do to st-"

Turbo's monologue was suddenly interrupted by Goofy's shield clashing with his face.

Sora seized the moment and struck with his Keyblade, hitting him across the back. Vanellope summoned what looked like a Thunder spell and struck the man to the ground. But almost immediately Turbo sprang right back to his feet, grabbing Sora by the arm and again throwing him to the floor. Goofy was lucky to block the blue energy burst with his shield however, and even Vanellope couldn't react fast enough to block his swipe. She fell to the ground with a grunt while Sora tried another aerial leap, missing horribly. Donald blocked off one route with a Blizzard spell and bought Goofy enough time to shield bash Turbo into it, but once again the man sprang back almost instantly, thrusting an open palm towards Goofy and knocking him back _through _the shield.

"Give it up already!" Turbo snarled. "I can take on all four of you at once! And if you dare make a mistake, even a _little _one, you go _poof!_ Bye-bye! Just like your little friend Calhoun! This game of chess has to end sometime, and I am the King! Which means I am all-"

There was a flash of green lightning, and again Turbo's evil chant was reduced to a gasp as Vanellope snuck behind him, binding his hands. The pair of them sunk half into the ground, trapping his legs.

"Yeah, you're the King alright!" She taunted into his ear. "But that's the thing. You're also a stinkbutt, and a meanie, and now you're trapped! Consider this… uhh, what's the word again?"

"Checkmate." Sora smirked. "You're helpless now, Turbo. Sure, maybe we can't defeat you. But you know what we can do? We can still win."

Sora picked up the flare Calhoun had thrown earlier. "Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone. What're you thinking, guys?"

"I think we oughta clean up." Goofy said.

"And I know exactly how." Said Sora. He held the flare high up, and almost instantly there was a heavy surge of buzzing as multiple Cy-Bugs locked onto it.

"What are… what are you doing?!" Turbo spluttered. "This is insane! This is madness! You wouldn't _dare_!"

"Wouldn't I?" Sora stared him down. Floating green eyes continued to close in on their little group. "Game over, Turbo."

Donald and Goofy had already gotten a fair amount away. Sora made sure to carefully tuck the flare into Turbo's pocket before throwing his Keyblade behind him, meanwhile Vanellope just teleported to safety.

"I'll get you for this, Virus!" Turbo struggled. "You'll regret the day you wronged me!"

The Cy-Bugs had surrounded him now. With a roar and a lunge, Turbo let out half a scream before the sound of slicing flesh and cracking joints echoed through the darkness.

"Oof…" Sora grimaced at it. "Y-you ready to finish things, Donald?"

"You bet," Donald grinned. The pair of them launched Firaga spells towards the mess of Cy-Bugs, igniting the mass. After a few pained screeches, the Cy-Bugs exploded one by one, covering the area in piles of viscous goop.

Sora dusted his hands. "A-and that's that."

"It is…?" Goofy muttered. "But ain't we s'posed ta be returnin' ta Sugar Rush now?"

"Or Game Central Station?" Donald sounded hopeful.

"Or… anywhere?" Vanellope shrugged. "W-what happens now?"

"I-I dunno," Sora said. "Wait for the game to reset I guess?"

Everywhere he turned, all he saw was darkness. There weren't even any more floating green eyes due to the last of the Cy-Bugs being defeated. All he knew was the vague sense of his three companions, Donald, Goofy and Vanellope. And the one lost on the way.

"H-hey, you think if the game resets, everything Turbo did will be undone?" He asked to no one in particular.

"Oh, because of that lady?" Vanellope said. "I-I hope so. If you die outside of your game, you don't come back, so that'd be a real bummer…"

Sora sighed. Despite everything, he couldn't help but feel a bit… hollow. Sure, they won, but they lost Calhoun and possibly destroyed Vanellope's home. It wasn't exactly a happy ending…

* * *

_Meanwhile, back at Hollow Bastion…_

A microwave dinged. Grabbing a dishcloth, Leon opened the door and pulled out an entire plate of hot dogs. About fifteen of them in total.

Humming contentedly to himself, he took his time slicing the buns open and adding even amounts of ketchup and mustard.

"That'll do it," he allowed himself a smile. Piling them back onto the plate, he carried the mountain of hot dogs back to the computer room. Something brought his attention to a shuffling halt, however.

"…the hell?" Leon frowned.

Surging in the middle of the hallway, an ominous cloud of darkness began to cackle. It grew larger and darker by the second, dimming the very lights with the energy coming from it. There was the tiniest of whimpers when Leon's plate of hotdogs shattered to the floor. Gunblade in hand, he triggered the alarm.

"Sora, what have you done?"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Hey there everyone. This is the second to last chapter, meaning the journey's almost over.**

**So yeah, Sora got to race, Candy got exposed, RIP Calhoun, plus an Easter egg with Leon. But we're not done yet. ;)**

**Thanks for reading. Seeya soon.**


	13. Chapter 13

"…now what?"

Sora rolled his eyes. He hadn't envisioned his grand victory to be this… bleak. Just endless swathes of nothing. Sure, he did technically delete the entire game, but he also defeated the guy who was in control of it all. So wasn't that supposed to fix it? He wasn't going to pretend to know anything about video games, not even for a moment, but generally things fixed themselves when you defeated the bad guy.

So why hadn't this?

"I-I don't know," Vanellope conceded. "King Can-, I mean _Turbo_ had been runnin' the place for a while so maybe it's gonna take longer than normal?"

"How long does a reset normally take?" Goofy chipped in.

"Can't say I remember." Vanellope shrugged. "But it shouldn't take _long_, right? Few minutes at most?"

The four of them continued to wait in darkness, which remained unchanging. Almost as if to spite them.

"Ya think maybe we didn't beat Turbo, a-and that's why the game ain't resettin'?" Goofy scratched his chin.

"W-well we saw the Cy-Bugs eat him and then we blew those up so I'm _pretty _confident that we beat him. But it _would_ explain a few things," Sora gulped. "I really don't wanna spend the rest of forever stuck in here."

Donald let out a long, low sigh. "…wanna play Go Fish?"

From out of nowhere the duck had produced a stack of cards and was splaying them out for show.

"Where… did you get those from?" Sora frowned.

"I always have these!" Donald hissed. "We gotta do _something, _don't we?"

"I guess," Sora scratched his head. "Alright, I'll bite. Got any fours?"

"Of _course, _I've got fours Sora, I've got the whole pack!" Donald raged, throwing the deck of cards at him. The cards fluttered down towards the 'ground', only to seep right through it.

"Ohhh…! And now I've lost my cards!" Donald seethed.

"Wait a second…" Vanellope crouched down. "Where _did _they go? It's a bit weird for them to just disappear, ain't it?"

"Huh, yeah now that you mention it," Sora said. "You know what Donald, maybe it is time to go fish!"

Donald just grunted in confusion. Sora dug his Keyblade into the ground, which sunk a couple of inches. He wiggled it a bit and watched as little flashes of light escaped.

"Ooh. Do that again!" Vanellope squeaked. "Vurp us outta here, Sora! That key of yours is the… key!"

"G-give us a hand!" Sora wiped sweat from his brow. Focusing everything he had on his Keyblade, he braced for the impact as Vanellope took his hand. The world surrounding them was reduced to green blocks and computer noises, with Sora's Keyblade a gleaming silver arrow piercing the ground.

"C'mon, c'mon…" Even his thoughts were strained. With every metallic creak of the Keyblade, every inch he buried it deeper, surges of light and energy would escape the wound in the floor. Sora pulsed his energy into the Keyblade and felt another burst of light ripple through him. The metallic computer noises were replaced with just one endless screeching noise, which only made concentrating harder. But it was working. No one could deny that.

"_Come on, Sora!"_ Donald's voice echoed from the distance.

_"You can do it!"_ Goofy's followed.

Sora grit his teeth in an effort to block out the screeching. Whatever this world was, it was clearly dying, and doing everything it could to stop them. Another wrench of his Keyblade sent the screech an octave higher but burst an actual hole in the bottom. Daylight was pouring in like air escaping a giant balloon. With another yelp of effort, Sora thrust his Keyblade into the floor once again, chipping off another section of floor. Cracks started shattering their way across, followed by entire sections of the ground falling loose. The screeching stopped at last, only to be replaced by the ringing of Sora's own ears, and the world slowly shattered away into nothingness, leaving the four of them standing on… the finish line?

This time it was the sound of applause shattering his eardrums. Squinting into the searing brightness, Sora could just about make out the sight of hundreds, if not _thousands _of Sugar Rush citizens cheering for them.

"You did it Sora, we're back!" Donald yelled into his ear.

"Ya saved us all!" Goofy literally picked him up in celebration.

"Some impressive work there, kid." Came another voice. Sora gasped and fell out of Goofy's grip, only to see Calhoun standing there, clear as day.

"S-Sarge! You're okay!" He dashed forward, arms outstretched but remembering at the last second. Instead one hand shot forward.

"We uh… we thought you were dead." His voice went all sombre.

"For a second so did I, Sora." Calhoun grasped his hand and shook it. "But I guess Candy sold himself short huh?"

"Either way, it's great to have you back Sarge." Sora grinned. "After all, who's gonna command your guys?"

"Huh. Well y'see, I was thinking about that Sora." Calhoun pursed her lips. "Now, you've clearly gone above and beyond the Call of Hero's Duty today, so how would you like to be my right hand man?"

"Hero?!" Vanellope yelped. With a panicked look, she vurped herself over the horizon.

"Y-you mean it?" Sora gasped. "I uh, wow, um…"

"You don't have to answer right away," Calhoun held up calm hands. "Or even if you just wanna do a couple sweeps every now and again. A uh, visiting Corporal, so to speak. That leaves you free to do whatever you want, and then help out when you can."

"Huh," Sora could feel the excitement bursting from within. "Corporal huh? I've never been anything other than just Sora before…"

"Say the word and it's a deal, buddy," Calhoun actually smiled.

"A-alright, I'll do it!" Sora grinned. "Happy to be of service, Sarge!"

"That's the spirit, Corporal." Calhoun stood up straight and saluted him, which he returned with gusto.

There was another flash on the horizon as Vanellope shot back, this time holding onto a Keyblade?

"Wait up, Dumdum!" She yelled after them. "Don't forget this!"

"This?" Sora gasped at it. "Is it… for me?"

"Well _doy!" _She poked out her tongue. "See anyone else with a giant key here?!"

"Fair point," Sora chuckled, and got a better look at it. The main shaft of the key seemed to be made out of candy cane, while candy corn teeth protruded from one end and a soft, squishy liquorice handle seemed to mould to his grip. A little handmade charm dangled from the handle saying 'you're my hero'.

"You seem to like these big key things so much, so I figured I'd make ya one!" Vanellope glittered. "That way you'll always have somethin' of us to take with you. I call it the Sweet Tooth!"

"Awe_some_…" Sora grinned, spinning it around a few times to get a feel for it. "A-and you _made _this? For me?"

"Well yeah, you fixed my game! I needed to thank you somehow!" Vanellope cried. She dashed forward and wrapped her arms around him. Sora braced for the weird, but it didn't come. The world remained strangely un-green. Positively normal even.

"Hey…" He mumbled.

"Shut up Dumdum, I'm hugging you." Vanellope muttered into his chest.

"But wait, look." Sora said. "The world's all… normal."

"Well yeah, of course it is!" Vanellope just got louder. "I said you fixed my game, didn't I?! Stop ruinin' the moment already!"

She nuzzled against him. "Come visit us, okay? It'll be tough being President-Queen without you idiots."

"President-Queen?" Sora frowned. "How are you both?"

"Hey, I can be both if I wanna. It's my game after all!" Vanellope poked her tongue out. "Now you guys get outta here before I start crying, okay?! But come back and visit!"

"Alrighty then, Ms President-Queen," Sora bowed. "Guess we're moving out then Sarge?"

"Couldn't have said it better myself Sora." Calhoun nodded in approval.

With Calhoun taking the lead, the four of them made their exit from Sugar rush, down the rainbow roll-up highway and back to Game Central Station. Unlike Sora's previous visits, the station was flowing steadily with dozens, if not hundreds of characters from various video games, interacting with each other between 'shifts' at their respective games. Unlike the lifeless husk it was before, everything about Game Central seemed reinvigorated and fresh now. Even the blue security guy was smiling.

"Well, looks like we've just about wrapped things up here kiddo." Calhoun clapped a hand on Sora's shoulder. "And I've got you guys to thank. So until next time, soldier."

Sora swung the Sweet Tooth over his shoulder and saluted with his free hand. "Thanks for having me Sarge. I'll swing by sometime, give ya a visit."

"I'd like that." Calhoun smiled. She turned about and began to slowly walk back off to her game when the world gave itself a gentle shake and Sora felt himself growing lighter.

* * *

_Back in Hollow Bastion_

The screen in the computer room began to glow, bursting with irradiated pixels as Sora, Donald and Goofy burst out of it.

"We're back!" Donald announced.

"Did ya miss…" Sora began, "us?"

The celebrations were going to have to be cut short. Aside from the missing roof, half of Radiant Garden seemed like it was on fire, billowing black smoke into the dusk.

"What happened here?" Sora muttered. Sweet Tooth already summoned, he and the guys hopped through a hole in the wall and into a scene of chaos. Residents of Radiant Garden were running about in a panic as an enormous winged figure launched balls of energy indiscriminately.

"What is that?!" Donald gasped.

There was a flash of bright blue light and someone familiar was knocked back into a wall. Gunblade in hand, Leon groaned with pain and struggled back to his feet.

"Dammit…!" He cursed. "Where the hell are you, Sora?"

"Leon!" Sora ran over to him and offered a hand up. "What's going on here?! Where is everyone?!"

"Heh. You always have the worst timing," Leon somehow found time to chuckle. "That is what's going on," he pointed to the huge dark figure in the sky. "And _that, _is where everyone is. Everyone is fighting that."

"What is it?" Sora gazed up at the creature. It had two pairs of insectoid wings stretching out from a dark central body, about six legs, and deep-set green eyes on a red and purple theme.

"Was just gonna ask you the same thing Sora," Leon held out his left hand to charge up a Firaga spell. "It spawned in the computer room while you guys were in there. Ruined my hotdogs too…"

"Ya don't think…" Goofy gulped. "It could be Turbo?"

"What?! That's impossible!" Sora cried. "We killed him and all of the Cy-Bugs! He can't just come back to life in the real world! I can't even-"

Sora's thoughts were derailed by a cacophony of high-pitched, demonic cackling. The giant creature had stopped in its tracks and appeared to be looking right at them.

"Well, well, if it isn't the _Virus_!" An all too familiar voice jeered. "What a lovely home you have! Now you can watch me _destroy it!"_

Sora exchanged a blank look with his comrades.

"Y-yep, that's definitely Turbo."

"But didn't you say it was impossible?" Leon frowned.

"Well apparently it isn't!" Sora cried. "C'mon guys, battle stations!"

There was barely time to react as another bright blue energy ball was launched right towards them. Goofy took point and absorbed the damage with his shield but was knocked back from the impact. Leon launched his Firaga spell towards Turbo, while Donald sent a sheet of Thundaga and Sora charged up a Blizzaga. All of which were cancelled out by a mere flap of Turbo's wings. Yuffie's boomerang arced out from somewhere and just bounced off the thick shell.

Goofy woke up and sprang back into action, launching his shield. Repeated wingbeats kept it suspended in mid-air before launching back at twice the speed, embedding itself in a wall. Cid's spear came vaulting out of nowhere, but it too just ricocheted from Turbo's tough carapace, and a blast of white light flashed through the skies, shocking him for just a moment. That must've been Aerith.

Cid swore loudly as his spear clattered to the ground, while Leon's gunblade grew to twice its usual size. He and Sora both charged Turbo at the same time, slashing with their respective weapons, only for their efforts to be held up by another blast of energy. Yuffie threw a trio of knives, Aerith attempted something with a blast of purplish energy, Donald launched a blast of Firaga and Cid even threw a lit stick of dynamite into the mix, but none of the efforts were getting through.

Turbo simply cackled with delight. "Aww, how cute. All of your little Virus friends are attacking together. Time to _delete!"_

An expulsion of energy burst from around Turbo, knocking anything and everything away like small bugs. Some were lucky enough to fall on the ground. Sora felt the rushing of wind in his ears before something heavy hit him from behind and his vision went black.

* * *

Reality came back to him in painful blurs.

Everything he had just hurt. There was the vague sensation of something tugging at his arm, but his very skin just felt as though it was made of needles. For every inch he was tugged across the rough ground, burning pain blistered across his body. His limbs, his joints, even his _eyes_ felt like they were full of lead.

"Sora…!"

A grunt escaped Sora. Whoever was shouting for him, they were going to have to wait until he had the strength to move again.

"C'mon, Sora!"

There was another sudden shunt as a much stronger force attempted to move him. The ground left him completely, leaving him surrounded by a vague buoyancy. There were hands under his underarms and feet.

"He's so… heavy!" A voice obviously belonging to Donald complained.

"Well we can't jus' leave him there Donald!" Goofy said from above him.

Sora groaned, his eyes gently fluttering open. Goofy's head loomed above him while Donald was struggling to prop up his legs. A ribbon of darkened blood was matting the feathers on Donald's head together, while Goofy's movement was slow and laboured.

"Ugh…" Sora groaned, finding the strength to lift a hand to his head. "What's… going on?"

"Sora! You're awake!" Goofy almost dropped him. "Ohh, ya had us so worried!"

His feet suddenly fell back to the ground with a thud as Donald obviously decided he was well enough to support his own weight again. Goof made sure to help him upright again. No sooner was he standing again that his head exploded with pain, even more so than before. Wincing, Sora rubbed at the offending area and pulled back a hand sticky with half-dried blood.

How long was he out? He remembered Turbo, all of them attacking, then there was the rush of wind and suddenly he was getting carried away. The blood in his hair was already drying, his limbs were screaming at him with every movement and there were constant flashes out of the corner of his eyes. Meanwhile Goofy had one eye welded shut from a bruise and a cracked shield, and Donald's staff was nowhere to be found.

"Oh geez, you guys are just as beat up as me," Sora stumbled back a step.

"Yeah, and we had to carry you…" Donald said darkly. "Try not to get knocked out next time, okay?!"

"Next time?" Sora frowned. "Whaddya mean, next time? I don't want there to be a next time…"

"Well unless we get to the shelter, there won't be a this time!" Goofy's voice was suddenly harsh.

"But…" Sora massaged his aching head. "B-but what about Turbo? Are we just gonna let him destroy the place?"

"What else can we do, Sora?" Goofy shrugged. "None 'a' us can stop him, so we gotta hide, an' maybe he'll get bored or somethin'."

Something inside Sora curdled. Run away and hide? What kind of strategy was that? What kind of Keyblade wielder would he be, to just let a monster rampage through the town, endangering countless lives?

A bright blue ball of energy screamed overhead and engulfed a building, disintegrating it in moments. Turbo's evil cackle rang loud and clear, carrying effortlessly through the evening skies.

Goofy started tugging on Sora's arm. "C'mon Sora, we gotta go! There's nothin' we can do!"

Donald joined in, trying to push him from behind. "This is bigger than us!"

His already tired limbs were buckling from Goofy and Donald's attempts to move him. Meanwhile another building disappeared in a tower of blue flames.

"You want us to just run and hide?" Sora summoned the Sweet Tooth. "Aren't we supposed to be the ones protecting those who are running and hiding?"

"Yeah, well now that's us," Goofy tugged harder. "It ain't pretty but we're outta options."

"But there's gotta be something we can do?!" Sora cried.

"We tried those while you were unconscious!" Donald said.

"What, everything? Every possible thing? Not buyin' it guys!"

"No one's sellin', Sora. Sometimes ya gotta know when to fold 'em."

"No shame in living to fight another day, Sora."

Even Donald's voice was low and reproachful. Turbo's cackle continued to ring through the skies as he rampaged through Radiant Garden, meanwhile Leon was flagging the three of them down outside what looked like one of those old-fashioned military bunkers. Little more than an armoured door and a window.

"Well, this is us for the next couple of days," Leon sighed, clutching onto his left arm and wincing. "It's not so bad though. We've got hot dogs, enough beds for ten or so people and a TV with like, five channels."

The huge, heavy door groaned in indignation as Leon wrenched it open. "Alright, get in. Cid, Yuffie and Aerith are already in there so we can ride out the worst of it together."

Donald and Goofy just shared a dejected look before looking back to Sora.

"It's for the best, Sora."

"Bein' brave is about knowin' which fights ta pick."

Sora's grip tightened on the Sweet Tooth.

"…fine," He groaned. The Sweet Tooth fell from his hand, clattering against the ground. An angry, undecided gurgle gripped at the depths of his stomach as he followed after Goofy and Donald down the concrete steps and into the ordinary bunker, where a bald lightbulb illuminated just how grey it all was. Yuffie had splayed herself across a beat up three-seater couch while Cid was swearing at the tiny TV, which just screamed white noise back at him. A half a dozen or so inspirational posters littered the walls, the fridge hummed to itself and a dusty bookshelf stood abandoned in the corner. In a word, depressing.

"Hey there, Sora…" Aerith muttered bashfully. "You did the best you could, okay?"

"I guess," Sora said. His stomach was really starting to hurt now. "Sorry, everyone."

"No, no… don't apologise." Aerith kept her voice soft. She placed a hand on his shoulder, which began to glow, sending healing pulses through his body.

Sora braced himself. "I-I'm still sorry."

"Sora?" Goofy turned to look at him. "Sora, n-"

The tension in his stomach was released, and Sora disappeared in a flash of green lightning, slipping through the crack in the door before Leon could close it.

Adrenaline surging through his veins, Sora reappeared where the Sweet Tooth had fallen. Both Donald and Goofy had plastered themselves against the window, screaming inaudible panic at him. Sora just looked away. This was his duty after all.

With a quick look around for ideas, he dashed off towards the main plaza where the Gummi Ship was, miraculously, still in one piece. Even if he could just lure Turbo away with it, that would at least keep the town safe.

Sora fired up the engines and strapped himself in for a bumpy ride. Flicking various switches, the weird buoyant feeling surrounded him as the ship took off into the skies above. The Gummi Ship's engines whirred loudly in the background as Sora fought to keep the thing stable, swerving between buildings and ducking around fallen structures. Fingers twitching, he watched as Turbo set another building alight before taking careful aim.

A splash of laser beams shot out of the left cannon and plunged into Turbo's shell. He flinched, and the ball of flame he was charging up dissipated.

"Hmm…?" He cackled to himself, rearing up. "It seems like I need to swat another _insect!"_

Turbo's wings began beating faster, and Sora had to zip behind another building to avoid a ball of flame. The building exploded in blue nova and Sora reached around for the walkie talkie, swerving left and right to avoid more fireballs.

"H-hey guys, come in? Sora h-" he began, before his sentence was hijacked by a myriad of panicked voices.

_"Sora!?"_

_"Sora! Where are-"_

_"-get back here, oka-"_

_"-you don't have to-"_

_"Sora!"_

"Guys, guys!" He yelled into the receiver. "Look, I don't exactly have the time to chat! Someone put Cid on the line!"

There was audible squabbling and fumbling on the other line, followed by a loud thud of someone obviously dropping the walkie talkie. Eventually Cid's rough drawl picked up;

_"What is it, numbskull? Tellin' ya, you're runnin' a suicide mission right now."_

"Eheh…" Sora chuckled. "Well yeah, about that…"

The walkie talkie thudded again, followed by the crackly noises of warping plastic.

_"Hang on, you WHAT?!" _Cid raged from the other side. _"If you're thinkin' about smashin' up that Gummi ship, I can promise you I will person'lly f-" _

Sora had to swerve to avoid a fireball, which torched another building. Meanwhile Cid was still cursing at him;

_"I'm tellin' ya Sora, there ain't gonna be SHIT left! You don't want me as yer enemy little man, you hear me?!"_

"C'mon Cid, I never said I _would_!" Sora grimaced, dodging out of the way as an almighty claw swept past.

_"Yeah but you're considerin' it aren't'cha?! That's as good as treason in my book!"_

"Well then how about a last request?!" Sora cried. "Just let everyone know I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry things turned out like this, and I'm gonna do my best to fix it! Hell, even if I fail I'll be seeing you guys soon anyway, so what's the harm?!"

_"Well…_ Cid's voice crackled through the static. _"I reckon we've got a compromise. Win or lose kid, you trash that Gummi ship and I'll punch you until I pass out, y'un'erstand me?!"_

"…I understand." Sora sighed. "I'll see you guys when this is all… over."

* * *

The static cut out on the walkie talkie, and Cid grasped onto it like it were a grenade.

"Stupid… kid!" He spat, dropping the thing. "Sora wants y'all to know he's _sorry_. Damn idiot's gonna try 'n' fight the giant space bug by himself!"

"Sora…!" Donald wailed, pressing himself up against the window.

"We're s'posed to be the ones protectin' you!" Goofy cried. Leon just put a hand on Goofy's shoulder.

Meanwhile Sora had just arced away from another fireball in the Gummi ship. Racing off into the night skies, he was throwing switches and practically tearing the steering wheel from its console in order to avoid Turbo's repeated onslaught. None of the limited chances he had to go on the offensive – the missiles, the rockets, the lasers – ever seemed to do anything, while smokescreens and evasive flying would only buy him an extra few seconds here and there. The concrete maze of Radiant Garden had phased out for long, stretching canyons. Occasional stacks of bright red rock would jut out of the lava below, which Sora could dodge around and slow Turbo down. But he persisted, stalking after the Gummi ship almost casually as if it barely interested him.

Turbo launched another fireball overhead, which Sora had to swing beneath and then avoid the rockslide it caused, meanwhile the missile he was able to fire in retort barely charred the cliff behind him. Meanwhile the canyons were getting narrower, and Sora was starting to regret ever turning down one. He couldn't exactly back out now though.

He was having to weave in and out between rock stacks, barely missing some, meanwhile Turbo decided to make things more interesting by suddenly loosing a stream of tiny yet powerful energy blasts. Hundreds of pellets were pinging off the Gummi Ship's shields, and warning signals were popping up everywhere within the cockpit. Sora was punching at controls to try and shut them up, but then a sheet of rock came out of nowhere, smashing into the side of the Gummi Ship.

Yet more energy blasts continued to pelt at the ship. The left engine was losing power and the shields were starting to run low. The cockpit was flashing red, and Sora was hitting every button and switch he could to keep the thing in the sky. Suddenly a wave of energy sliced into the shields and the alarms only got louder, meanwhile the rock walls were just getting closer together.

This was not looking good, Sora grimaced. The rock faces either side of him were glowing blue now, as Turbo charged up an enormous ball of energy. He was running out of options and fast. Sora scrunched his eyes shut and hammered down on a big button on the dashboard, once feeling his stomach leave him behind.

* * *

"No…!" Donald hammered his fists against the glass as a massive explosion flared up on the horizon. Turbo's evil cackle rang through the skies.

* * *

Sora's eyes opened. Wind rushing through his hair, the heat of the explosion was still sweltering. And now he was falling towards it. But Turbo hadn't noticed him yet. Hopefully. He had one chance at this.

Sweet Tooth in hand, Sora dropped down through the air, the heat of the lava below rising with every second. Turbo was too busy cackling to notice Sora puncture the Keyblade right in between his wing joints.

"Wha?!" Turbo gasped. "Wh-who're you?!"

"I'm a Virus, and you _caught _me, Turbo!" Sora sneered. Digging the Sweet Tooth ever deeper into Turbo's depths, the giant bug-man screamed in pain with every movement, and both went plunging through the skies, towards the lava below.

"Y-you know we're both gonna die, right?!" Turbo cackled. "You wanna die, Virus!? 'Cause this is how you die!"

"Sometimes you gotta make sacrifices!" Sora stuck the Sweet Tooth in farther still, prompting another pained shriek from his host. "But this is _my _game, and I'm gonna defend it!"

"Haah! A-hah!" Turbo's voice was getting squeaky now. "E-even from yourself, _Virus?_ What'll happen if _you _die out here? Pretty sure _you _can't come back!"

"Well nor can you, and that's the important thing!" Sora cried. The heat was all but unbearable now. Flumes of lava would occasionally spout upwards just to make things worse, meanwhile Turbo was doing all he could to break free. Sora dug his Keyblade in farther just go keep the bug paralysed.

"I'll get you for this Virus! Trust me, you will rue the day you crossed me!" Turbo was still somehow cackling despite the rage in his voice. The cackling slowly morphed into strained screams however, as the pair continued to descend towards the river of lava.

"C'mon, c'mon…" Sora grimaced. Sweat was cascading down him now. The air around them must've been hot enough to melt rock, but he had to keep his focus. His grip tightened, and he ripped the two feet of metal out of Turbo's back in one swoop. Turbo shrieked in pain, but it wasn't from the Sweet Tooth. Wings flailing desperately, his body was slowly getting swallowed up by all consuming lava, meanwhile Sora was nowhere to be found.

Turbo continued to scream as his body slowly dissolved into the lava, all while Sora held on limply to the Sweet Tooth impaled in the side of a cliff. Pebbles were slipping loose thanks to his weight, but he couldn't wait around. He wrenched the key out of the rock and lobbed it away, where it pierced another wall and teleported him towards it. A Blizzard spell projected him outwards from the wall and he then pivoted himself upwards with another careful throw.

The rock walls were starting to collapse though. Sora took a leap and froze a plume beneath him with another Blizzard spell, which rose upwards. A rock stack started collapsing to his left, so he jumped over to it and started clambering across it as it fell. The heat of the lava below was slowly dissipating with increased distance, but the cliffs and rocks were falling apart in front of his eyes.

The Sweet Tooth cracked into another cliff and Sora pivoted from it onto a small shelf, inching his way around the rock face to a higher platform. One last throw and his Keyblade finally crested over the edge of the cliff, transporting him onto flat ground at last.

He fell to the gravelly savannah in a flourish of sweat, cradling up to it like a long-lost passion. He wasn't dead. He defeated Turbo – this time for good! – and wasn't dead. Sure, he totalled the Gummi Ship so Cid was going to kill him later anyway, and he had nowhere to run because he totalled the Gummi Ship, but that was a _later _problem…

Sora wrenched himself back into a sitting position and marvelled at the Keyblade in his hand. The two foot strip of metal was responsible for saving his life, and this time not by just beating something into submission.

With every swing, he could teleport himself another twenty or so metres, which was so much faster than walking. Vurping his way across the night, Sora ventured back into Radiant Garden's city centre, only to find a morose looking Donald and Goofy slumped up against the window of the shelter.

Grinning, the young man knelt in front of it and tapped on the window with his Keyblade.

**_*tap tap!*_**

Donald reacted first with a small grunt, opening heavy eyes and glancing at the intruder. Suddenly, realisation.

He shrieked silently, scrambling to his feet. Goofy sprang upwards almost immediately after and even Leon fell off the couch behind them. A series of heavy thuds up concrete steps had Donald fighting with the heavy metal door and then out into the night.

"Sora! You're alive?!" Donald gasped. "B-but… but we saw the Gummi Ship blow up!"

"Ejector seat." Sora said simply. "Good thing too, huh?"

"I'll say!" Goofy slapped a hand on his back. "Ya done scared us good there."

Both of his team-mates ran towards him in an enormous group hug.

"Good to see you again Sora." Even Leon was smiling. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting to. Looks like I stand corrected… again."

Cid simply stood in the doorway and glared.

"…sorry," was all Sora could say. "I guess you're gonna have to punch me a lot now, huh?"

"Yer damn right I do," Cid tapped a cigarette out of the packet he kept behind his ear and lit it. "But ya know what? I think I'll let you off today. That model of Gummi Ship was gonna get scrapped in a few months anyway. So ya can help me build the new one instead."

"I'll hold you to it." Sora grinned. "Well, now what guys? Looks like we're stuck here 'til the new Gummi Ship gets built."

Goofy just shrugged. "I… guess we can take some time off?"

"You _did_ just save the world…" Donald sniggered.

"You know what? You're right. I _did _just save the world." Sora grinned again. Together with his two best buddies, Sora laid back on the grass and watched the night sky pass them by.

Infinite lights among endless darkness.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**That's it everyone, thanks for reading.**

**I messed around with the mechanics a bit and essentially Nobody'd Turbo. Unofficial name Boxtur. **

**Thanks again for reading. I'll be uploading more KH fics at some point, so look forward to those if you want :)**


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